godless

American  

[god-lis] / ˈgɒd lɪs /

adjective

1. having or acknowledging no god or deity; atheistic.

2. wicked; evil; sinful.

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godless British  

/ ˈɡɒdlɪs /

adjective

1. wicked or unprincipled

2. lacking a god

3. refusing to acknowledge God

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Other Word Forms

• godlessly adverb
• godlessness noun

Etymology

Origin of godless

First recorded in 1520–30; god + -less

Explanation

Someone who doesn't believe in any god is godless. Your religious grandmother might refer to your atheist uncle as godless. While the adjective godless literally means just "not revering a god," it's most often used by religious people or groups to criticize those who don't show the proper respect to God or religion, or those who are unbelievers. When a group is described as a "godless society," it's usually an observation of a perceived lack of morality or law, coming from the idea that people who believe in God are better, more moral citizens.

Example Sentences

He tracks how deeply the transformative ideas of “biological evolution, a godless universe, and planetary extinction” shaped the poet’s imagination.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

All would be lost, however, without Mays’ quicksilver brilliance — the way he can shift from savage irony to vindictive rage to godless despair in the space of a line.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

“The Young Pope” paints him to be politically devious and as dangerous as any godless politician, a description more fitting than we’re initially shown.

From Salon • May 10, 2025

Speaking ahead of Easter, Dr Williams was asked on Politics Wales as to how he reflected on an increasingly godless society.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2022

On this scroll it says that Sir Charles Baskerville had an ancestor called Sir Hugo Baskerville, who was a wild, profane and godless man.

From "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon