nonbeliever

noun

non·​be·​liev·​er ˌnän-bə-ˈlē-vər How to pronounce nonbeliever (audio)
: a person who is not a believer
… a well-known nonbeliever in holiday sales or discounts …Seung Lee
a nonbeliever in ghosts
especially : atheist
… had grown up in the West and gone to college as a nonbeliever in the Bible Belt … Tim Keown

Examples of nonbeliever in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Why don’t religious people make similar allowances for nonbelievers? James Parker, The Atlantic, 7 Oct. 2025 The most vocal nonbeliever of Rosenhaus’s prognosis comes via social media in Dr. David Chao, better known as the Pro Football Doc, who served as the NFL head team doctor for more than 17 years. Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2025 Meanwhile, nonbelievers create humorous content, featuring videos of empty clothes draped over furniture or laid out on the street, suggesting they were abandoned by those who were raptured. Jordan Green, Nashville Tennessean, 23 Sep. 2025 And that fixed identity stems from the fact that every ideology, every doctrine, will have believers and nonbelievers. Sean Illing, Vox, 12 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for nonbeliever

Word History

First Known Use

1649, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of nonbeliever was in 1649

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Cite this Entry

“Nonbeliever.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonbeliever. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.

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