as in gentiles
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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Recent Examples of pagans
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
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, 21 Dec. 2025
Other cultures had similar variations of a dark helper, like the Alpine pagans’ Perchten and the Palatinate region’s Belsnickel.
—Angelika Ytuarte, jsonline.com, 5 Dec. 2025
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
Damon Wise, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
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, 21 Dec. 2025
Other cultures had similar variations of a dark helper, like the Alpine pagans’ Perchten and the Palatinate region’s Belsnickel.
—Angelika Ytuarte, jsonline.com, 5 Dec. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pagans
Noun
-
Posters on the platform often used the term in anti-Semitic ways, such as in the terms goyslop (unhealthy foods that these conspiracy theorists believed were a Jewish plot to hinder gentiles) and goycattle (the unthinking masses who are constantly being manipulated by Jewish people).—
Ali Breland,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
-
The basic original recipe for latkes—grated potatoes formed into small cakes and fried—was similar to ones popular at the time among gentiles in Eastern Europe during the Christmas season.—
Joan Nathan,
Saveur,
4 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
This is even true of the cold, hard atheists—the effective altruists.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pagans.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pagans. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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