atheist

noun athe·ist \ ˈā-thē-ist \

Updated on: 12 Apr 2018

Definition of atheist

: a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods : one who subscribes to or advocates atheism

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atheistic

play \ˌā-thē-ˈis-tik\ or atheistical play \ˌā-thē-ˈis-ti-kəl\ adjective

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atheistically

play \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

See atheist defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of atheist from the Web

Weinstein said that 16 of the 26 petitioners identify as Christians — including Roman Catholics and several Protestants — with the rest a mix of Jews, Native American, Shintoists, Buddhists, atheists and agnostics.

— carl prine, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Navy probes Bible placement in military display at Okinawa hospital," 6 Apr. 2018
Journalist Eugenio Scalfari, the founder of Italian newspaper La Repubblica and a prominent atheist thinker with whom the Pope has struck up a friendship.

— gabriella paiella, The Cut, "So What’s Going on With This Pope Francis Hell Controversy?," 30 Mar. 2018
Of those with such attitudes, 49 percent were Muslim, 17 percent Christian and 14 percent atheist.

— Fox News, "Paris murder stokes fears of rising anti-Semitism in France, Europe," 29 Mar. 2018
Facing a legal battle, Hill soon seeks help from his estranged brother -- a big-city lawyer and atheist -- in a fight to help rebuild the church.

— joey morona, cleveland.com, "Movie Minute: Are you ready for 'Ready Player One?'," 29 Mar. 2018
Like someone once said, there are no atheists in foxholes.

— frank scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, "'I Can Only Imagine': Film Review," 16 Mar. 2018
Emeritus fellow at the University of Oxford and renowned atheist author Richard Dawkins claims that a combination of similar last names and naive news producers has confused him for Stephen Hawking.

— benjamin fearnow, Newsweek, "Richard Dawkins Complains People Confusing Him with Stephen Hawking: 'Why Aren't You in Your Wheelchair?'," 14 Mar. 2018
The universal observance of Christmas is not a bad analogy: Skepticism about the Nativity doesn’t stop atheists exchanging Christmas presents.

— peter thonemann, WSJ, "‘Pantheon’ Review: The Divine in Daily Life," 23 Mar. 2018
One user said four men were coming to kill him, while others called him an infidel or an atheist, a potentially fatal accusation in a conservative Muslim country.

— Bloomberg.com, "Afghan Child Named Donald Trump Proves Divisive," 15 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'atheist.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

How agnostic Differs from atheist

Many people are interested in distinguishing between the words agnostic and atheist. The difference is quite simple: atheist refers to someone who believes that there is no god (or gods), and agnostic refers to someone who doesn’t know whether there is a god, or even if such a thing is knowable. This distinction can be troublesome to remember, but examining the origins of the two words can help.

Agnostic first appeared in 1869, (possibly coined by the English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley), and was formed from the Greek agnōstos (meaning "unknown, unknowable"). Atheist came to English from the French athéisme. Although both words share a prefix (which is probably the source of much of the confusion) the main body of each word is quite different. Agnostic shares part of its history with words such as prognosticate and prognosis, words which have something to do with knowledge or knowing something. Atheist shares roots with words such as theology and theism, which generally have something to do with God.