infidel

[ in-fi-dl, -del ]

noun

1. Religion. Often Disparaging and Offensive. a person who does not accept a particular faith, especially Christianity or Islam.
2. a person who has no religious faith; unbeliever.
3. (loosely) a person who disbelieves or doubts a particular theory, belief, creed, etc.; skeptic:

   When it came to ghosts, he was a self-confessed infidel.

adjective

1. Often Disparaging and Offensive. not accepting a particular faith, especially Christianity or Islam.
2. without religious faith.
3. Also in·fi·del·ic [] of, relating to, or characteristic of unbelievers.
4. relating to or showing unbelief:

   Our infidel ideas about artificial intelligence make us pariahs in the academic community.

infidel

/ ˈɪnfɪdəl /

noun

1. a person who has no religious belief; unbeliever

adjective

1. rejecting a specific religion, esp Christianity or Islam
2. of, characteristic of, or relating to unbelievers or unbelief

Word History and Origins

Origin of infidel¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Late Latin infidēlis “unbelieving,” Latin: “unfaithful, treacherous”; in- ³, feal ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of infidel¹

C15: from Medieval Latin infidēlis, from Latin (adj): unfaithful, from in- ¹+ fidēlis faithful; see feal

Synonym Study

See agnostic.

Example Sentences

How could a man who mastered the works of Anton Chekhov and August Wilson be content booming “Infidel defilers!” in “Conan the Barbarian”?

From Los Angeles Times

The Dance of the Santiagueros, a variant of the dance of the Moors and Christians, represents the triumph of Christianity over the “infidel peoples.”

From Los Angeles Times

He says even if he recites the shahada - a declaration of a Muslim's faith - some despise him for "taking the infidel's money".

From BBC

Finger on the trigger, the guerrilla accused him of being a “communist and an infidel.”

From New York Times

Also at issue for the botanists are a wide variety of plants with scientific names based on an Arabic term for “infidel” that has become a racist slur so noxious that it is treated as hate speech in South Africa and referred to as the “K-word.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• agnostic