infidels

plural of infidel
as in dissenters
disapproving a person who does not believe in a religion that someone regards as the true religion The theocracy regarded as infidels anyone that did not practice their religion.

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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.
Recent Examples of infidels Sunni imams issued fatwas, legal condemnations by Islamic religious leaders, against us infidels. Literary Hub, 4 Mar. 2026 Al Qaeda and Islamic State generally view Shiites as infidels and consider Iran a mortal enemy. Foreign Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2026 For those infidels keeping score at home, exactly one year ago today, Carrnac gazed into his crystal ball and presciently predicted both the acquittal of Karen Read and the conviction of Tania Fernandes Anderson. Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 31 Dec. 2025 The group follows an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam and considers Shiites to be infidels. Arkansas Online, 27 Dec. 2025 The ideology of the groups appears to categorize anyone not subscribing to their extremist views as infidels, whether Muslims or Christians. Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025 During the Crusades, the Inquisition, and countless pogroms, Jews were demonized as infidels who refused to abandon their faith, even under threat of death. Avi Weiss, New York Daily News, 10 Aug. 2025 War in Syria When the Syrian civil war erupted in March 2011, Syrian Druze were targeted at times by both the Assad regime, which pressured them to support it, and by Islamist rebel groups that regarded them as infidels. Asher Kaufman, The Conversation, 21 July 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for infidels
Noun
  • Even if no charges ultimately are filed, the attorneys contended in interviews that rooting out identities of dissenters is at the very least an intimidation tactic.
    Bloomberg, Mercury News, 28 May 2026
  • Their comments triggered a deluge of backlash from the media and fans alike; their songs were pulled from country radio stations; the band was jeered at during live appearances; and some dissenters even took to destroying their CDs.
    Jaeden Pinder, Rolling Stone, 27 May 2026
Noun
  • What once seemed like an agitator railing against the system has become a gatekeeper crushing dissidents under his thumb.
    Dylan Green, Pitchfork, 29 May 2026
  • That’s pushed some Chinese dissidents toward more unconventional escape routes, instead of travelling through neighboring countries such as Vietnam or Thailand, which have a mixed record on protecting Chinese dissidents.
    Yoonjung Seo, CNN Money, 27 May 2026
Noun
  • People didn’t come to the series with a working knowledge of the State Department, ready to see what the renegades were like.
    Debora Cahn, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026
  • The men who once styled themselves renegades increasingly resembled every other hyper-online young guy—gaming, memeing, trading.
    Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 17 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • An idea could be forming despite unbelievers.
    Magi Helena, Dallas Morning News, 14 Mar. 2026
  • Peppering dashes of humor into its brew of foreboding, the movie views the rise of an authoritarian movement through its effect on a family of unbelievers, covering a five-year period that begins in celebration and ends somewhere very different.
    Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 27 Oct. 2025

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“Infidels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infidels. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.

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