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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in secular
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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 pagan
ABC News,
17 June 2026
Among those cut was the Unitarian Universalist Association (others were atheists, pagans and Wiccans).
—
Voice Of The People,
New York Daily News,
11 June 2026
Sometimes he was described as a modern-day Cyrus, a Persian king and a pagan in the Hebrew Bible whom God nevertheless anointed and would use for his purposes.
—
Peter Wehner,
The Atlantic,
10 June 2026
The Church of the Assumption, which sits atop the tiny island, is the fifth house of worship to occupy this spot — which was originally the site of an eighth-century Slavic pagan temple.
—
Tribune Content Agency,
Baltimore Sun,
8 Apr. 2026
Why would pagans want a coin with a Christian on it?
—
Sarah Durn,
Popular Science,
8 Apr. 2026
The pagans believed eggs symbolized fertility and birth.
—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
For someone like me, brought up Catholic, mortal sin has remained the secret par excellence, a pagan custom, delicious in its dark-ness and all the human incomprehension that surrounds it.
—
Literary Hub,
31 Mar. 2026
Valentine's Day pagan connections One of the most common explanations is that Valentine's Day has its origins in the ancient Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia.
—
Marina Johnson,
IndyStar,
5 Feb. 2026
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
20 June 2026
There’s more than a tinge of folk horror to this lingering mystery, which brings to mind the 1973 genre landmark The Wicker Man, in which a puritanical police officer travels to a remote island community that’s reverted to old pagan ways.
—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
15 June 2026
Glenn Turner, the former owner of a pagan and metaphysical shop, is running as a member of the Green Party.
—
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
For decades, the Georgia Guidestones were nothing more than kitschy roadside Americana – a curiosity people visited for fun, intrigue, and the occasional pagan ritual.
—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
21 Apr. 2026
The area Life is decidedly unhurried in this part of the world, where the sunkissed monte landscape is punctuated by cork, olive, and oak trees, wild horses frolic in meadows, and huge granite dolmens hint at a pagan past.
—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 Apr. 2026
The pagan Martial enjoyed the sight.
—
Literary Hub,
15 Apr. 2026
Some 30,000 faithful gathered outside the pagan monument, following the stations as they were recited over loudspeakers.
—
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
The name of the basilica next to the cloister, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, is indicative of its past, a Catholic basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary over what was once a pagan temple to the Roman god of wisdom, Minerva.
—
ABC News,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
Whatever the explanation, thousands of people, many dressed as druids and pagans, will gather at the site on Sunday to see the sun rise.
—
ABC News,
17 June 2026
Among those cut was the Unitarian Universalist Association (others were atheists, pagans and Wiccans).
—
Voice Of The People,
New York Daily News,
11 June 2026
Sometimes he was described as a modern-day Cyrus, a Persian king and a pagan in the Hebrew Bible whom God nevertheless anointed and would use for his purposes.
—
Peter Wehner,
The Atlantic,
10 June 2026
The Church of the Assumption, which sits atop the tiny island, is the fifth house of worship to occupy this spot — which was originally the site of an eighth-century Slavic pagan temple.
—
Tribune Content Agency,
Baltimore Sun,
8 Apr. 2026
Why would pagans want a coin with a Christian on it?
—
Sarah Durn,
Popular Science,
8 Apr. 2026
The pagans believed eggs symbolized fertility and birth.
—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
For someone like me, brought up Catholic, mortal sin has remained the secret par excellence, a pagan custom, delicious in its dark-ness and all the human incomprehension that surrounds it.
—
Literary Hub,
31 Mar. 2026
Valentine's Day pagan connections One of the most common explanations is that Valentine's Day has its origins in the ancient Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia.
—
Marina Johnson,
IndyStar,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
Solstices are often associated with pagan religions and draw revelers of different faiths.
—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
20 June 2026
There’s more than a tinge of folk horror to this lingering mystery, which brings to mind the 1973 genre landmark The Wicker Man, in which a puritanical police officer travels to a remote island community that’s reverted to old pagan ways.
—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
15 June 2026
Glenn Turner, the former owner of a pagan and metaphysical shop, is running as a member of the Green Party.
—
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
For decades, the Georgia Guidestones were nothing more than kitschy roadside Americana – a curiosity people visited for fun, intrigue, and the occasional pagan ritual.
—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
21 Apr. 2026
The area Life is decidedly unhurried in this part of the world, where the sunkissed monte landscape is punctuated by cork, olive, and oak trees, wild horses frolic in meadows, and huge granite dolmens hint at a pagan past.
—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 Apr. 2026
The pagan Martial enjoyed the sight.
—
Literary Hub,
15 Apr. 2026
Some 30,000 faithful gathered outside the pagan monument, following the stations as they were recited over loudspeakers.
—
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
The name of the basilica next to the cloister, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, is indicative of its past, a Catholic basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary over what was once a pagan temple to the Roman god of wisdom, Minerva.
—
ABC News,
19 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pagan
Noun
-
From there, the beef between the two couples runs the gamut from faux-gentile to downright nasty.
-
Several new billboards on Interstate 84 in Hartford and West Hartford are sending a not-so-gentile reminder that rat poison kills more than just rats.
Adjective
-
Seven Mountains has brought the language of spiritual warfare and demon-fighting into the mainstream of evangelicalism, through a network of pastors who view themselves as prophets and apostles engaged in a battle against evil secular forces.
-
Since the Six-Day War in 1967, which resulted in the emergence of the messianic Gush Emunim movement and the planting of settlements in the West Bank, changes within Israeli society have alienated many American Jews, as well as secular, left-wing Israelis.
Noun
-
Veena had been an atheist with dreams of becoming a physicist.
-
Her poems inspire liberals and conservatives, atheists and believers, naturalists and urbanites.
Adjective
-
What better way to distinguish God-fearing Americans from the godless communists of the Soviet Union than to put God on the money?
-
This is why calls to restore power to government institutions ring hollow, and why the Democratic Party’s faith in institutions can appear naive and godless.
Adjective
-
His father's death during World War II influenced his pursuit of the ministry even amid the officially atheistic communist regime of the Soviet Union, according to his obituary on the OCU website.
-
But there has been a recent rise in secular congregations that explicitly mimic religious organizations and rituals to celebrate atheistic worldviews.
Adjective
-
This story is told by an unnamed narrator, an irreligious woman who has joined the nuns as a lay resident after her faith in environmental advocacy crumbled.
-
And even the irreligious Bill de Blasio would join parishioners at the cathedral.
Adjective
-
Florida statutes creating the charter school framework also require those schools to be nonreligious.
-
Republicans vow to appeal Arkansas ruling Last year, seven Arkansas families of various religious and nonreligious backgrounds filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s new law requiring all public elementary and secondary schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom and library.
Cite this Entry
“Pagan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pagan. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
