atheist
Americannoun
-
a person who does not believe in the existence of a supreme being or beings.
-
a person who believes that there is no supreme being or beings.
noun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012adjective
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Usage
What does atheist mean? An atheist is a person who does not believe in the existence of a supreme being or deity. In other words, an atheist is a person who does not believe in the existence of God or of any gods.The belief or doctrine that denies the existence of gods or supreme beings is atheism. Atheist can also be used as an adjective to describe such beliefs or things involving such beliefs. The adjective atheistic can be used in the same way.The word atheist means something different from the word agnostic, which refers to a person who believes it is impossible to know whether or not a supreme being exists. When asked if God or gods exist, an atheist would answer “No,” while an agnostic would answer “It is impossible to know.”Example: Being an atheist doesn’t mean I think God is bad—it means that I think God doesn’t exist.
Related Words
See agnostic.
Other Word Forms
- antiatheist noun
- atheistic adjective
- atheistically adverb
- proatheist noun
Etymology
Origin of atheist
First recorded in 1565–75; from Greek áthe(os) “godless” + -ist; a- 6 ( def. ), theo-
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.
All around him now there are football atheists.
From BBC
“I know people of faith will watch the show, but I also know that atheists watch the show and like it. To me, that’s the broadest possible audience.”
Lou assumes her husband is an atheist and doesn’t understand when she discovers a Bible in the house.
From Los Angeles Times
He describes himself as an atheist and said it felt like "a bit of an imposition and probably a bit unfair and silly".
From BBC
China's officially atheist government has been wary of organized movements outside its control, and the country's Christians had been split among those attending unofficial "house" or "underground" churches and those visiting government-sanctioned places of worship.
From Barron's
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.
