pagan

American  

[pey-guhn] / ˈpeɪ gən /

noun

• pagans
  plural

1. (in historical contexts) one of a people or community observing a polytheistic religion, as the ancient Romans and Greeks.

2. a member of a religious, spiritual, or cultural community based on the worship of nature or the earth; a neopagan.

3. Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive.

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

   2. an irreligious or hedonistic person.

   3. an uncivilized or unenlightened person.

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adjective

1. (in historical contexts) of or relating to pagans.

2. Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive.

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

   2. irreligious or hedonistic.

   3. (of a person) uncivilized or unenlightened.

pagan British  

/ ˈpeɪɡən /

noun

1. a member of a group professing a polytheistic religion or any religion other than Christianity, Judaism, or Islam

2. a person without any religion; heathen

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adjective

1. of or relating to pagans or their faith or worship

2. heathen; irreligious

Usage

What does pagan mean? The word pagan was once used to refer to a person who practiced a polytheistic religion—one based on belief in more than one god. This sense of the word was also used as an adjective to describe things related to such belief systems, as in pagan rituals. These senses are no longer in technical use (such as among religion scholars). Historically, pagan has also been used by followers of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam to refer any person who practices a different religion (especially one different than their own). This sense of the word is considered disparaging and offensive due to implying that such people and their beliefs are primitive and perhaps even evil. A more general use of pagan based on this sense is used to refer to a person considered irreligious, uncivilized, or hedonistic. The word heathen has traditionally been used in the same ways. Today, pagan can be used in a neutral way to refer to a person whose religious or spiritual beliefs center around nature or the earth and various deities associated with it. Such a person may also be called or identify as a neopagan.  Example: As a Wiccan, I consider myself a pagan in the tradition of ancient belief systems.

Synonym Usage

Heathen and pagan are primarily historical terms that were applied pejoratively, especially by people who were Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, to peoples who were not members of one of those three monotheistic religious groups. Heathen referred especially to the peoples and cultures of primitive or ancient tribes thought to harbor unenlightened, barbaric idol worshipers: heathen rites; heathen idols. Pagan, although sometimes applied similarly to those tribes, was more often used to refer specifically to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who worshiped the multiple gods and goddesses said to dwell on Mount Olympus, such as Zeus and Athena (called Jupiter and Minerva by the Romans). The term was applied to their beliefs and culture as well: a pagan ritual; a pagan civilization. Contemporary paganism, having evolved and expanded in Europe and North America since the 20th century, includes adherents of diverse groups that hold various beliefs, which may focus, for example, on the divinity of nature or of the planet Earth or which may be pantheistic or polytheistic. In modern English, heathen remains a term that can be offensive, used to accuse someone of being unenlightened or irreligious; pagan, however, is increasingly a neutral description of certain existing and emerging religious movements.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonpagan
  noun
• pagandom
  noun
• paganism
  noun
• semipagan
  noun
• nonpaganish
  adjective
• paganish
  adjective
• paganist
  adjective
• paganistic
  adjective
• pseudopagan
  adjective
• semipaganish
  adjective
• unpagan
  adjective
• paganishly
  adverb
• paganistically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pagans
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pagan

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Medieval Latin, Late Latin pāgānus “worshiper of false gods,” originally (in military slang), “civilian” (i.e., not a soldier of Christ), Latin: “peasant,” noun use of pāgānus “rural, civilian,” derivative of pāgus “village, rural district” (akin to pangere “to make fast, settle upon, fix”) + -anus ; see -an

Explanation

You could be considered a pagan if you don't believe in religion or you worship more than one god. The original pagans were followers of an ancient religion that worshiped several gods (polytheistic). Today, pagan is used to describe someone who doesn't go to synagogue, church, or mosque. It could be that they worship several gods at once, or they have no interest in a god at all. Religious people sometimes use pagan as a put-down to describe the unreligious as godless and uncivilized.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pagan pagans

"The reason why they're so popular - certainly with pagan ceremonies - the solar eclipse is thought of as a merging of the sun and the moon."

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Modern directors and adapters are wary of the civic and cosmic levels, perhaps out of fear that pagan prophets and citizen choruses will seem artificial or dated.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026

The coin dates back to the same era as the famous Sutton Hoo ship burial, which, as Dr Marsden explained, had a mix of Christian and pagan grave goods.

From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2025

“It goes back to pagan times when we’d get together for the harvest and feasting. Humans don’t really need much reason to get together and party, and this is our alternative to religion.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2025

My pagan mother alone among us understood redemption.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

They cremated their dead, spoke the Germanic ancestors of Old English and were pagans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

In the ’90s, Westwood took a lot of inspiration from pagans.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2024

And at Stonehenge's equinox celebrations in England, druids, pagans, and anyone else who wants to join in gather to witness the sunrise over the ancient stones.

From National Geographic ● Sep. 21, 2023

Stonehenge was built by pagans, the Washington Monument was built by Masons and the Statue of Liberty was built by the French.

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2023

For a millennium or so there were ancients and moderns, which corresponded roughly to pagans and Christians.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• agnostic
• atheist