pagan 1 of 2

noun

ˈpā-gən How to pronounce pagan (audio)
Definition of pagannext
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

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pagan

2 of 2

adjective

as in secular

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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
Noun
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
Adjective
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 See All Example Sentences for pagan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pagan
  1. gentile
  2. secular
  3. atheist
  4. godless
  5. atheistic
  6. irreligious
  7. nonreligious
Noun
  • Since 1998, the program has both grown alongside and influenced the growth of interest in Yiddish language and culture from a wide swath of society, Jew and gentile, young and old, religious and secular alike.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • From there, the beef between the two couples runs the gamut from faux-gentile to downright nasty.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 17 Apr. 2026
Definition of gentile
Adjective
  • Despite offers, the Pentecostals there have declined to sell it back into secular use.
    — Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 3 Sep. 2026
  • While Insulet stock may face volatility from unrelated issues, the underlying secular demand for tubeless insulin delivery remains highly resilient against the GLP-1 wave.
    — Harvey Stober, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of secular
Noun
  • Toward the end of our call, Ochoa tells me his mother, who raised him as an atheist, recently had a religious awakening.
    — Charles Moss, SPIN, 1 Sep. 2026
  • When the rain ends a drought, an atheist can feel grateful that the tomatoes will survive.
    — Mark Schroeder, The Conversation, 15 July 2026
Definition of atheist
Adjective
  • Up to that point, America’s external enemy—the godless Soviets—gave the movement coherence and urgency.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Sometimes this was committed to good, such as the Marshall Plan and the Peace Corps, and sometimes to ill, as in a series of military blunders meant to quash godless Communism.
    — Jim Rasenberger, The Atlantic, 4 July 2026
Definition of 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.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Mar. 2026
  • But there has been a recent rise in secular congregations that explicitly mimic religious organizations and rituals to celebrate atheistic worldviews.
    — Jacqui Frost, The Conversation, 11 Jan. 2024
Definition of atheistic
Adjective
  • Because materialism had an irreligious connotation, Hattem says it was left out of the national conversation until the Gilded Age of the 1920s, when people start saying the quiet part out loud.
    — Cari Shane, USA Today, 25 June 2026
  • 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.
    — Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2026
Definition of irreligious
Adjective
  • Because Saudi Arabia had not yet been opened to nonreligious tourists—that happened in 2019—many visitors to the country were pilgrims, who didn’t expect flashy meals.
    — Ruby Tandoh, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
  • According to the study, more than 97% of religious respondents and 80% of nonreligious respondents said they had been spiritually moved, inspired or comforted by online content.
    — City News Service, Daily News, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of nonreligious

Browse Nearby Words

paeans
pagan
paganish
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Cite this Entry

“Pagan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pagan. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on pagan

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about pagan

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