agnosticism
Americannoun
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the belief that the answers to the basic questions of existence, such as the nature of the ultimate cause and whether or not there is a supreme being, are unknown or unknowable.
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an intellectual doctrine or attitude affirming the uncertainty of all claims to ultimate knowledge.
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an attitude or view that does not conform to either of two opposing positions on a topic.
Etymology
Origin of agnosticism
First recorded in 1870–75; agnostic ( def. ) + -ism ( def. )
Vocabulary lists containing agnosticism
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Watching my wife’s spiritual evolution from agnosticism to Christianity, I saw that she was acquiring insights I lacked.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025
Born in 1911 and raised in “a loose sort of Protestantism,” McLuhan drifted toward agnosticism as an undergraduate, but converted to Catholicism during his doctoral studies at Cambridge.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2025
E: Isn’t agnosticism frankly the most honest position?
From Washington Times ● Jun. 6, 2023
Given the problems with all interpretations of quantum mechanics, agnosticism, again, strikes me as a sensible stance.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 14, 2021
It occurs to me to ask that profound question of modern agnosticism: Is God dead?
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
