heathen

American  

[hee-thuhn] / ˈhi ðən /

noun

heathens, plural heathen plural

1. (in historical contexts) a member of a people that do not acknowledge the God of the Bible; a pagan.

2. Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive.

   1. a person who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim.

   2. an irreligious, uncultured, or uncivilized person.

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adjective

1. (in historical contexts) of or relating to heathens; pagan.

2. Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive.

   1. relating to a religion, person, or culture that is not Christian, Jewish, or Muslim.

   2. irreligious, uncultured, or uncivilized.

heathen British  

/ ˈhiːðən /

noun

1. a person who does not acknowledge the God of Christianity, Judaism, or Islam; pagan

2. an uncivilized or barbaric person

3. (functioning as plural) heathens collectively

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adjective

1. irreligious; pagan

2. unenlightened; uncivilized; barbaric

3. of or relating to heathen peoples or their religious, moral, and other customs, practices, and beliefs

Synonym Usage

See pagan.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• heathendom
  noun
• heathenhood
  noun
• heathenism
  noun
• heathenness
  noun
• heathenship
  noun
• nonheathen
  noun
• half-heathen
  adjective
• unheathen
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• heathen
  plural
• heathens
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

"Heathen" is a story about religion but also about race, colonialism, empire and identity — particularly American identity.

From Salon • Jul. 4, 2022

With Toy shelved, the prolific musician instead focused on what would eventually become his 2002 album Heathen.

From BBC • Sep. 29, 2021

Or one of the Great Heathen Army — Viking warriors from Scandinavia — that invaded England by the thousands and set up camp outside, conquering what was then the Kingdom of Mercia.

From Washington Post • Jul. 17, 2021

Uniformly strong, the songwriting on Heathen stretched from the prosaic – the letter-to-adult-son of Everyone Says Hi – to the baffling.

From The Guardian • Mar. 19, 2020

Celestial and Terrestrial Heathen and Christian its connexion with the Rosicrucians and the Gnostics and its foundation in Buddhism with an essay on mystic anatomy by Hargrave Jennings . . .

From A Catalogue of Books in English Later than 1700 (Vol 2 of 3) Forming a portion of the library of Robert Hoe by Various

Related Words

• ungodly