heathen
Americannoun
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(in historical contexts) a member of a people that do not acknowledge the God of the Bible; a pagan.
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Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive.
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a person who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim.
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an irreligious, uncultured, or uncivilized person.
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adjective
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(in historical contexts) of or relating to heathens; pagan.
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Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive.
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relating to a religion, person, or culture that is not Christian, Jewish, or Muslim.
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irreligious, uncultured, or uncivilized.
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noun
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a person who does not acknowledge the God of Christianity, Judaism, or Islam; pagan
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an uncivilized or barbaric person
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(functioning as plural) heathens collectively
adjective
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irreligious; pagan
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unenlightened; uncivilized; barbaric
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of or relating to heathen peoples or their religious, moral, and other customs, practices, and beliefs
Synonym Usage
See pagan.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of heathen
First recorded before 900; Middle English hethen, Old English hǣthen, akin to German Heide, heidnisch (adjective), Old Norse heithingi (noun), heithinn (adjective), Gothic haithno (noun); perhaps akin to heath
Explanation
If you don't believe in God — or if you contradict other beliefs of a religion — you are a heathen. There are plenty of nonbelievers, but a heathen is something more — someone who is actively offensive to a religion. The term is tied to the Gods of Judaism, Christianity and Islam; someone who rejects the various gods of Hinduism, for example, is not likely to be called a heathen. Heathens are sometimes called infidels and pagans. These days, the term is often used humorously. An atheist might jokingly refer to herself as a heathen.
Vocabulary lists containing heathen
"Beowulf," Vocabulary from the epic poem
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 20–25
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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.
The tradition has been celebrated for centuries and is believed to have its roots in a heathen festival to celebrate the return of spring.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
With the passage of centuries, the Eurocentric accounts that depicted Cortés as a heroic “white savior” and Moctezuma as a cowardly heathen have been eclipsed.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 24, 2025
"The heathen world is precisely this: an elastic realm of individual-less Others who reflect back to Americans, as in a fun-house mirror, the selves they wish to deny, pity, control, or romance," writes Gin Lum.
From Salon • Jul. 4, 2022
“I joked that since I didn’t get the religious one I must be a heathen or something,” he said.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 18, 2021
Olly: haikus are awful, they're just less fun limericks Madeline: You've been downgraded from heathen to heretic.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
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.
