as in skeptic
a person who is always ready to doubt or question the truth or existence of something
a hardheaded unbeliever who demanded to see concrete evidence of any alleged UFO activity
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Recent Examples of unbeliever
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
No one ever converted an unbeliever with harshness, condemnation, and threats of hell.
—Sophia A. Nelson, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025
An app called Krishna, for example, has already advised killing unbelievers and supporting India's ruling party.
—Scott Shapiro, WIRED, 8 Jan. 2024
To have reservations about something that is treated as sacrosanct is to be an unbeliever, or worse, a heretic, and thus someone to be cast out.
—Ian Buruma, Harper's Magazine, 2 June 2023
As director of Number 10’s in-house think-tank, the Policy Unit, the unbeliever in question has hitherto been an obscure figure in Boris Johnson’s high command, albeit an important one.
—The Economist, 27 June 2020
For me, this person is always an unbeliever and the strain of making him see is considerable.
—Stephen Mirarchi, National Review, 28 Dec. 2019
The isolated world of Appalachian snake handlers is the setting for this drama about a pastor’s daughter who falls in love with an unbeliever.
—Cary Darling |, Houston Chronicle, 8 Aug. 2019
The philosophe wondered what was left to unbelievers in the way of ethical guidelines.
—Dan Hofstadter, WSJ, 15 Feb. 2019
Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 27 Oct. 2025
No one ever converted an unbeliever with harshness, condemnation, and threats of hell.
—Sophia A. Nelson, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025
An app called Krishna, for example, has already advised killing unbelievers and supporting India's ruling party.
—Scott Shapiro, WIRED, 8 Jan. 2024
To have reservations about something that is treated as sacrosanct is to be an unbeliever, or worse, a heretic, and thus someone to be cast out.
—Ian Buruma, Harper's Magazine, 2 June 2023
As director of Number 10’s in-house think-tank, the Policy Unit, the unbeliever in question has hitherto been an obscure figure in Boris Johnson’s high command, albeit an important one.
—The Economist, 27 June 2020
For me, this person is always an unbeliever and the strain of making him see is considerable.
—Stephen Mirarchi, National Review, 28 Dec. 2019
The isolated world of Appalachian snake handlers is the setting for this drama about a pastor’s daughter who falls in love with an unbeliever.
—Cary Darling |, Houston Chronicle, 8 Aug. 2019
The philosophe wondered what was left to unbelievers in the way of ethical guidelines.
—Dan Hofstadter, WSJ, 15 Feb. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unbeliever
Noun
-
For the past few years, skeptics have warned that generative AI could lead to cultural stagnation by flooding the web with synthetic content that future AI systems then train on.—
Ahmed Elgammal,
Fortune,
22 Jan. 2026
-
The money is moving from skeptics to believers.—
Boaz Sobrado,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
While stars and filmmakers this season tried to cope candidly with questioners, their impact was nonetheless inhibited by the rigors of Oscar rules.—
Peter Bart,
Deadline,
8 Jan. 2026
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But your questioners are also asking about test scores?—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
30 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unbeliever.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unbeliever. Accessed 25 Jan. 2026.
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