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crusade Definition

cru·sade (kro̵̅o̅ sād′)

noun

  1. any of the military expeditions which Christians undertook from the 11th to the end of the 13th cent. to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims
  2. a vigorous, concerted action for some cause or idea, or against some abuse

Etymology: < Sp cruzada, altered after Fr croisade, both < ML cruciata < pp. of cruciare, to mark with a cross < L crux, cross

intransitive verb crusaded -·sad′ed, crusading -·sad′·ing

to engage in a crusade

Related Forms:

crusade Synonyms

crusade

n.

campaign, march, demonstration, holy war; see movement 2.

crusade Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • join: People joined the crusades for a variety of reasons.

Adjective modifier

  • moral: We all have our moral crusades that we feel strongly about.
crusade Quotes

The Labour Party is a moral crusade, or it is nothing.

—Wilson of Rievaulx, (James) Harold Wilson, Baron

All Presidents start out pretending to run a crusade, but after a couple of years they find they are running something much less heroic, much more intractable: namely, the Presidency.

—Cooke, (Alfred) Alistair

Browse dictionary entries near crusade

  1. ‹ crus
  2. ‹ crural
  3. ‹ crura
  4. ‹ crupper
  5. ‹ cruor
  6. ‹ crunchy
  7. ‹ crunchtime
  8. ‹ crunchiness
  9. ‹ crunchiest
  10. ‹ crunchier
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