Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words
1

gentile

play
noun gen·tile \ˈjen-ˌtī(-ə)l\

Definition of gentile

  1. 1 often capitalized :  a person of a non-Jewish nation or of non-Jewish faith; especially :  a Christian as distinguished from a Jew

  2. 2 :  heathen, pagan

  3. 3 often capitalized :  a non-Mormon

See gentile defined for English-language learners

See gentile defined for kids

Explore Merriam-Webster

alt-599ca1388698f
Drawing a Conclusion About "Sketchy"
a-woman-waits-at-the-end-of-a-gloomy-pier-does-she-wait-for-charon-the-ferryman-to-the-underworld-it-is-dark-but-she-carries-a-parasol
Vocabulary Thrives in Darkness
alt-59973139034d4
Trending: 'Svengali' Bannon leaving White House
time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Examples of gentile in a Sentence

  1. a strict sect that believes that fellowship with gentiles should exist only for the purposes of conversion

Origin and Etymology of gentile

Middle English gentyl, gentile — more at 2gentle ◆Historically the same word as 2gentle, with full vowel in the final syllable under influence of the Medieval and Late Latin source word.

gentile Synonyms

Synonyms
heathen, idolater (or idolator), pagan
Related Words
atheist, giaour, infidel, misbeliever, miscreant, nonbeliever, unbeliever; non-Christian, non-Jew, non-Muslim; neo-pagan, polytheist
Near Antonyms
Christian, Jew, Muslim

Other Jewish Religion Terms

Talmud, Zion, challah, dybbuk, kosher, tabernacle, tetragrammaton, yarmulke

2

gentile

adjective gen·tile

Definition of gentile

  1. 1 often capitalized a :  of or relating to the nations at large as distinguished from the Jews; also :  of or relating to Christians as distinguished from the Jewsb :  of or relating to non-Mormons

  2. 2 :  heathen, pagan

  3. 3 [borrowed from Latin gentīlis] :  relating to a tribe or clan

Origin and Etymology of gentile

Middle English gentyl, gentile — more at 1gentle ◆See note at 1gentile.

Other Christian Religious Terms

Pentateuch, blasphemy, curate, doxology, eremite, iconoclasm, liturgy, orison, pneuma, reliquary

GENTILE Defined for English Language Learners

gentile

play
noun

Definition of gentile for English Language Learners

  • : a person who is not Jewish

GENTILE Defined for Kids

1

gentile

play
noun , often cap gen·tile \ˈjen-ˌtīl\

Definition of gentile for Students

  1. :  a person who is not Jewish

2

gentile

play
adjective , often cap gen·tile

Definition of gentile for Students

  1. :  of or relating to people who are not Jewish

Learn More about gentile

  1. Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for gentile Spanish Central: Translation of gentile Nglish: Translation of gentile for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of gentile for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up gentile? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

nobby

play

cleverly stylish

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. Svengali 'A person who manipulates'

  2. syzygy An obscure astronomy term goes mainstream

  3. hegemon "Something having dominant influence over others"

  4. repugnant Trump clarifies his position on racism

  5. white nationalist, white supremacist Trending in 2017

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

gentile

Test Your Vocabulary

Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

  • time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
  • Which came first?
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ
SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-599ca1388698f
Drawing a Conclusion About "Sketchy"

How did "sketchy" come to describe creeps?

2-pairs-of-scissors
What's the Singular of 'Scissors'?

A tricky, double-edged word origin.

a-woman-waits-at-the-end-of-a-gloomy-pier-does-she-wait-for-charon-the-ferryman-to-the-underworld-it-is-dark-but-she-carries-a-parasol
Great Words for Twilight and Darkness

Words for the goth in all of us

bunch-of-yellow-balloons-lit-by-the-sun
Helium: This Word Brought to You by a Solar Eclipse

And by the Sun, with some help from Greek.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

Take the quiz
name-more-food
Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

Take the quiz
Name That Thing
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

Take the quiz
SCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game
Examples: gentile in a Sentence