atheist

[ ey-thee-ist ]

noun

1. a person who does not believe in the existence of a supreme being or beings.
2. a person who believes that there is no supreme being or beings.

atheist

/ ˈeɪθɪˌɪst /

noun

1. a person who does not believe in God or gods

adjective

1. of or relating to atheists or atheism

Derived Forms

• ˌatheˈistic, adjective
• ˌatheˈistically, adverb

Other Words From

• an·ti·a·the·ist noun adjective
• pro·a·the·ist noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of atheist¹

First recorded in 1565–75; from Greek áthe(os) “godless” + -ist; a- ⁶( def ), theo-

Synonym Study

See agnostic.

Example Sentences

In Season 2, Kyle Abrams meets Shaina Hurley’s extremely religious brood where one of her brothers lists his hobbies as being outdoors, riding dirt bikes and “being an American” before he asks Kyle, an atheist, “Are you a Godly man?”

From Salon

It feels to me that the rise of exvangelicals came out of the ashes of the New Atheist movement, which imploded because so many New Atheist leaders were replicating the racism, sexism, and reactionary politics of the white evangelical church.

From Salon

But he eventually settled into an uneasy agnosticism, spent some time as an “angry atheist,” and then, many years later, in 2019, converted to Catholicism.

From Slate

She is a Hindu while he is a former Baptist and atheist who converted to Catholicism.

From Los Angeles Times

He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2015 in connection with the murder of an atheist blogger.

From BBC

Related Words

• agnostic
• doubting Thomas
• skeptic
• unbeliever