variants
or heathen
1
as in pagans
a person who does not worship the God of the Bible
a study of the beliefs and practices of ancient heathens
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2
as in barbarians
an uncivilized person
European colonizers, who considered the New World peoples to be heathens, forced them to conform to European ways
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Recent Examples of heathens
Predictably, the hubbub surrounding the photo was eventually framed as a war between uptight virgins and godless heathens, with a quieter contingent astounded only by the fact that this kind of marketing could still be so effective.
—
Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2025
Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heathens.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heathens. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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