unbeliever

noun

un·​be·​liev·​er ˌən-bə-ˈlē-vər 

1

: one that does not believe in a particular religious faith

2

: one that does not believe : an incredulous person : doubter, skeptic

Synonyms

• disbeliever
• doubter
• doubting Thomas
• questioner
• skeptic

Example Sentences

a hardheaded unbeliever who demanded to see concrete evidence of any alleged UFO activity

Recent Examples on the Web

As director of Number 10’s in-house think-tank, the Policy Unit, the unbeliever in question has hitherto been an obscure figure in Boris Johnson’s high command, albeit an important one. —The Economist, 27 June 2020

For me, this person is always an unbeliever and the strain of making him see is considerable. —Stephen Mirarchi, National Review, 28 Dec. 2019

The isolated world of Appalachian snake handlers is the setting for this drama about a pastor’s daughter who falls in love with an unbeliever. —Cary Darling |, Houston Chronicle, 8 Aug. 2019

The philosophe wondered what was left to unbelievers in the way of ethical guidelines. —Dan Hofstadter, WSJ, 15 Feb. 2019

Decree defeat, humiliation and unbelief to the unbelievers. —Adam Nossiter, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2018

Melnik was a mocker and an unbeliever, a lecher, a contrary creature. —Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2018

For the casual, uninitiated baseball fan who tunes in every once in a while, this season’s home-run calls must sound as baffling as a Pentecostal sermon to an unbeliever. —Jay Caspian Kang, New York Times, 29 Aug. 2017

But their willingness to ally themselves with any enemy of their enemy has left them in the strange position of cheerleading regimes that jail homosexuals, murder dissidents, stone unbelievers, and drop barrel bombs on civilians in Aleppo. —Yascha Mounk, Slate Magazine, 5 Jan. 2017

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Word History

First Known Use

1526, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

unbeliever

noun

un·​be·​liev·​er ˌən-bə-ˈlē-vər 

1

: one who does not believe in a particular religious faith : infidel

2

: one who does not believe : doubter

unbelieving

-ˈlē-viŋ

adjective

unbelievingly adverb