infidel
Americannoun
-
Religion. a person who does not accept a particular faith, especially Christianity or Islam.
-
a person who has no religious faith; unbeliever.
-
(loosely) a person who disbelieves or doubts a particular theory, belief, creed, etc.; skeptic.
When it came to ghosts, he was a self-confessed infidel.
adjective
-
Often Disparaging and Offensive. not accepting a particular faith, especially Christianity or Islam.
-
without religious faith.
-
Also infidelic of, relating to, or characteristic of unbelievers.
-
relating to or showing unbelief.
Our infidel ideas about artificial intelligence make us pariahs in the academic community.
noun
adjective
-
rejecting a specific religion, esp Christianity or Islam
-
of, characteristic of, or relating to unbelievers or unbelief
Related Words
See agnostic.
Etymology
Origin of infidel
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Late Latin infidēlis “unbelieving,” Latin: “unfaithful, treacherous”; in- 3, feal ( def. )
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.
“Word battles were wild and furious; and Liberal soon became known, not only as an infidel or atheist town, but as a very strange town,” author J.P.
From Washington Times • Jan. 8, 2017
Its slickest publication had been Dabiq, a magazine named for a Syrian town where, in the seventh century, Armageddon was prophesied to play out in an apocalyptic battle with infidel forces from the Roman Empire.
From The New Yorker • Dec. 4, 2016
He proudly calls himself an infidel and a deplorable.
From New York Times • Nov. 4, 2016
There was an assumption that they would be greeted as liberators, rather than infidel invaders - as shown by the removal of hard hats for soft berets in the early stages of occupation.
From BBC • Jul. 4, 2016
In the first place, what is an "infidel"?
From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 5 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Discussions by Ingersoll, Robert Green
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.
