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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
She’s taken, perversely, with John the Baptist, imprisoned in a cistern and prophesying doom for the decadent, Godless heathens, Salome in particular.
—
Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2026
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
Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heathens
Noun
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The characters here, though, are nowhere near so smart as those conniving pagans and can only dream of outwitting the sophisticated folk from the mainland, coming there with their talk of cake, and comfy chairs, and their lies.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
22 Jan. 2026
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The crowds, many dressed as druids and pagans, had gathered before dawn, waiting patiently in the dark and cold field in southwest England.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Dec. 2025
Noun
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In most academic histories of European imperialism written in this century, the Europeans are the barbarians, killing and raping and looting on an unprecedented scale.—
David A. Bell,
The New York Review of Books,
19 Mar. 2026
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And if any of you barbarians out there slather ranch dressing on your wings, there’s a special place in hell just for you.—
Bill Reinhard,
New York Daily News,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Heathens.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heathens. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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