gnostic
1 Americanadjective
-
pertaining to knowledge.
-
possessing knowledge, especially esoteric knowledge of spiritual matters.
-
(initial capital letter) pertaining to or characteristic of the Gnostics.
noun
noun
adjective
adjective
Usage
What does -gnostic mean? The combining form -gnostic is used like a suffix meaning “of or relating to knowledge.” It is occasionally used in scientific and technical terms, especially in medicine.The form -gnostic is a combination of two forms. The first is -gnosis, from Greek gnṓsis, meaning “a seeking to know.” The second is the suffix -ic, from Greek -ikos, which denotes adjectives.What are variants of -gnostic?While -gnostic doesn't have any variants, it is related to the forms -gnosis, as in diagnosis, and -gnomy, as in physiognomy. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles on -gnosis and -gnomy.
Other Word Forms
- antignostic adjective
- antignostical adjective
- gnostically adverb
- ungnostic adjective
Etymology
Origin of gnostic1
1555–65; < Late Latin Gnōsticī (plural) name of the sect < Greek gnōstikós (singular) pertaining to knowledge, equivalent to gnōst ( ós ) known + -ikos -ic
Origin of -gnostic2
< Medieval Latin -gnōsticus < Greek gnōstikós pertaining to knowledge
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Edgar Calel’s dimly lighted installation, in which stones and plant matter dangle over vessels that hold flickering, electronic flames, transports us to a contemplative gnostic ritual.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
The novel finally ends up in a commune where Ana and her gnostic sisters discuss “a plethora of other ideas about women that turned traditionally held beliefs upside down.”
From Washington Post • Apr. 21, 2020
We can feel its gnostic effects on our everyday reality, but we rarely see it, and it’s quite inscrutable to non-initiates.
From Slate • Oct. 14, 2019
Just as his characters plunge through constructed realities in quest of truer selves, so do we, as DeLillo’s readers, find in his pages something akin to insight of a gnostic order.
From New York Times • May 2, 2016
Eternal life, not eternal knowledge, as the Alexandrian gnostic said.
From Tragic Sense Of Life by Flitch, J. E. Crawford (John Ernest Crawford)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
