as in gentile
a person who does not worship the God of the Bible
the temple was built by pagans in the 4th century as a place to worship their idols
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as in secular
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Recent Examples of pagan
Jake Coyle, Boston Herald, 19 Sep. 2025
These wooden churches were once common across the country, built when Christianity was still new and pagan traditions lingered.
—David Nikel, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Previous defense motions have also claimed that German and Williams' murders were actually a ritual sacrifice committed by Odinists, members of a pagan religion linked with White nationalism, per CNN.
—Jordana Comiter, People.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Church leaders understood these views to be heretical or pagan, reflecting pride and a lack of gratitude to God.
—Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 4 Aug. 2025
This attempt to turn back the clock included the purging of Christian texts from schools, the conversion of Christian churches into pagan temples, and religious persecution as it had been practiced in centuries past.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 22 Feb. 2025
Over time, my conquistadors retired, and my pagan temples got demolished to make way for grocery stores.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2025
As de Kort tells Live Science, these treasures were buried in several deposits that might have constituted offerings to a pagan god—possibly Wodan, the Germanic persona of the Norse god Odin.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Feb. 2025
That is an ancient pagan symbol coopted by Germany’s Nazi regime and worn prominently during World War II on the uniforms of the brutal Waffen SS units.
—Matthew Kriner, The Conversation, 3 Feb. 2025
Brooke L. Rollins, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Church officials decided to recognize Dec. 25 as his birthday, probably to coincide with the date of pagan festivals in an attempt to get pagans to accept Christianity as the official religion.
—Atlanta Life, ajc, 10 Nov. 2017
While plague stalks the land, paranoid peasants swap cautionary folk tales about evil spirits, pagans, Jews and other outsiders.
—Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Oct. 2017
Thomas Jefferson had strong views on religion, but his Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom disestablished the Church of Englandand established religious liberty for Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, even pagans.
—Jonah Goldberg, Alaska Dispatch News, 27 Sep. 2017
Lance Wallnau, a Christian author, claimed God spoke to him and showed him that Trump was like King Cyrus, who followed God’s will despite being a pagan.
—Colby Itkowitz, Washington Post, 23 Aug. 2017
To do Trumpzilla justice, the film should be blustery, spectacular, gold-garish, and neo-pagan, a Circus Maximus Cecil B. DeMille might have whipped up with his riding crop after a fever dream.
—James Wolcott, HWD, 19 June 2017
Noun
Just before the combine, though, Cam, while practicing alone at night, is struck in the head by a strange pagan spirit-slash-mascot that emerges out of the shadows.
—Jake Coyle, Boston Herald, 19 Sep. 2025
These wooden churches were once common across the country, built when Christianity was still new and pagan traditions lingered.
—David Nikel, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Previous defense motions have also claimed that German and Williams' murders were actually a ritual sacrifice committed by Odinists, members of a pagan religion linked with White nationalism, per CNN.
—Jordana Comiter, People.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Church leaders understood these views to be heretical or pagan, reflecting pride and a lack of gratitude to God.
—Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 4 Aug. 2025
This attempt to turn back the clock included the purging of Christian texts from schools, the conversion of Christian churches into pagan temples, and religious persecution as it had been practiced in centuries past.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 22 Feb. 2025
Over time, my conquistadors retired, and my pagan temples got demolished to make way for grocery stores.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2025
As de Kort tells Live Science, these treasures were buried in several deposits that might have constituted offerings to a pagan god—possibly Wodan, the Germanic persona of the Norse god Odin.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Feb. 2025
That is an ancient pagan symbol coopted by Germany’s Nazi regime and worn prominently during World War II on the uniforms of the brutal Waffen SS units.
—Matthew Kriner, The Conversation, 3 Feb. 2025
Adjective
In the Book of Acts, the pagans of Athens gathered to hear the gospel preached by Paul.
—Brooke L. Rollins, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Church officials decided to recognize Dec. 25 as his birthday, probably to coincide with the date of pagan festivals in an attempt to get pagans to accept Christianity as the official religion.
—Atlanta Life, ajc, 10 Nov. 2017
While plague stalks the land, paranoid peasants swap cautionary folk tales about evil spirits, pagans, Jews and other outsiders.
—Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Oct. 2017
Thomas Jefferson had strong views on religion, but his Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom disestablished the Church of Englandand established religious liberty for Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, even pagans.
—Jonah Goldberg, Alaska Dispatch News, 27 Sep. 2017
Lance Wallnau, a Christian author, claimed God spoke to him and showed him that Trump was like King Cyrus, who followed God’s will despite being a pagan.
—Colby Itkowitz, Washington Post, 23 Aug. 2017
To do Trumpzilla justice, the film should be blustery, spectacular, gold-garish, and neo-pagan, a Circus Maximus Cecil B. DeMille might have whipped up with his riding crop after a fever dream.
—James Wolcott, HWD, 19 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pagan
Noun
-
Brody plays a hot rabbi who falls for Bell’s raunchy gentile podcaster, but their relationship could be doomed by their cultural differences in season two.—
Tolly Wright,
Vulture,
8 Sep. 2025
-
For instance, in between Avi’s 2004 plane ride that starts the episode’s main arc and its last-second flash-forward to 2022, the premiere revels in the rapid wordplay of a gentile girlfriend meeting a vibrant Jewish family and the general tomfoolery of a jubilant bar mitzvah.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Hamas’s founding goal was to wrest control of the Palestinian national movement from its secular rivals and transform it into an Islamist cause.—
Hussein Ibish,
The Atlantic,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Interview Jews, Israeli Arabs, Druze, orthodox, secular, etc.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
On the fateful day that inbound Soviet bombers filled the skies above America with godless communism, the horizontal Bomarc missiles would literally become erect, and fire vertically.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
To the materialist atheist, these may not be serious considerations, but to the romantic who looks to signs and follows them to a happy ending, these are cosmic breadcrumbs that feed us, but may also lead us to the door of the witch who brews soup with children’s bones.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Karen came from a big Catholic family; Greg was an atheist and, like many atheists, proud of it.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
25 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Stewart’s switch from his usual snark to imitate Colbert’s buffoonery proved how spiteful and irreligious political humor has become since the left’s worship of Barack Obama and subsequent persecution of President Trump.—
Armond White,
National Review,
25 July 2025
-
Silverstein had a much different experience growing up, given the fact that his parents were both Baalei teshuva (irreligious Jews who become more observant later in life).—
Josh Weiss,
Forbes.com,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The suit was filed by 15 Texas families with multifaith and nonreligious backgrounds against 14 school districts, including Fort Worth, Arlington, Northwest, Azle and Mansfield ISDs.—
Lina Ruiz,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 Sep. 2025
-
At the same time, some opponents – including Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist, Hindu and nonreligious plaintiffs – do not necessarily wish to remove religion entirely from educational institutions.—
Lydia Artz,
The Conversation,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pagan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pagan. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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