Meanings
- Enthusiasm of an inexperienced person cannot be easily controlled.
They do not understand that “zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse” and that's why they are unproductive.
2016, Johnstone Kayandabila, Leadership's Big Idea: High-Potential Leaders in the Making, →ISBN3 more examples
As my old granny would have commented: "Zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse." The mosque was all frenzy, made so by factions inspired by Middle Easterners who discovered fertile ground in Brixton.
2005, New Statesman, page 20"And what are you, if I may ask?" Sol said, tapping his partner's knee. Alfred answered deliberately. He pointed to his eyes. "A realist. A pragmatist, after long and hard experience. Dreams are for fools and idiots, and zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse."
2014, August Franza, AMERICA ARRIBA!: Don Quijote and Sancho Panza in the 21st Century, →ISBNProverbs 19:2 states that it is not good to have zeal without knowledge. A similar British proverb is “zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse." Zeal defines the earnestness and good intentions that remain essential to the church. However, the congregation's enthusiasm, coupled with inexperience in cross-cultural ministry, can result in an inability to listen and receive help from their host.
2014, David Wesley, A Common Mission, →ISBN
Cite this entry
zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zeal%20without%20knowledge%20is%20a%20runaway%20horse
“zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zeal%20without%20knowledge%20is%20a%20runaway%20horse. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zeal%20without%20knowledge%20is%20a%20runaway%20horse.
Source: zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.