atheism

[ey-thee-iz-uhm]

noun

1. disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or a supreme being or beings.

2. the philosophical position stating that there is no supreme being or beings.

atheism

/ ˈeɪθɪˌɪzəm /

noun

1. rejection of belief in God or gods

atheism

1. Denial that there is a God. (Compare agnosticism.)

Other Word Forms

• antiatheism adjective
• proatheism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of atheism¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Greek áthe(os) “godless” + -ism; a- ⁶ ( def. ), theo-

Word History and Origins

Origin of atheism¹

C16: from French athéisme, from Greek atheos godless, from _a- ¹ + theos god

Example Sentences

It is not science and technical progress that nurtures modern atheism but rather the very “image of God” tradition revolting against God.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It’s hard to know what any of this signifies, other than that atheism is too boring to hold the attention of literate people for more than a few years at a time.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Chinese Communist Party promotes atheism and tightly controls religion - still, some Christian groups are calling this the most extensive crackdown against the faith in decades.

Read more on BBC

He said his own spiritual arc included Baptist baptism as a child in Indianapolis, atheism in college and a 1980 Christmas Eve service in Boston after which he became a devoted Christian again.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Not because he's carefully engaged the many philosophical proofs for atheism that are out there, of course.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• nihilism 

When To Use

What does atheism mean?

Atheism is the belief that there is no supreme being or deity. In other words, atheism is the denial of the existence of God or of any gods.A person who holds such a belief can be called an atheist. The word atheist can also be used as an adjective to describe such beliefs or things involving such beliefs. The adjective atheistic can be used in the same way.The word atheism means something different from agnosticism, which is the belief that it is impossible to know whether or not a supreme being exists. When asked if God or gods exist, an atheist would answer “No,” while an agnostic would answer “It is impossible to know.”Example: Atheism isn’t the belief that God is bad—it’s the belief that God doesn’t exist.