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HEATHEN Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

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View synonyms for heathen

heathen

[ hee-thuhn ]

noun

plural heathens, heathen.
  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.


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

/ ˈhiːðən /

noun

  1. a person who does not acknowledge the God of Christianity, Judaism, or Islam; pagan
  2. an uncivilized or barbaric person
  3. the heathen
    functioning as plural heathens collectively
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈheathenism, noun
  • ˈheathenness, noun
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Other Words From

  • hea·then·dom noun
  • hea·then·hood noun
  • hea·then·ness noun
  • hea·then·ship noun
  • half-hea·then adjective noun
  • non·hea·then noun plural nonheathens nonheathen adjective
  • un·hea·then adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of heathen1

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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of heathen1

Old English hǣthen; related to Old Norse heithinn, Old Frisian hēthin, Old High German heidan
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Synonym Study

See pagan.
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Example Sentences

The Trumpov Tower shimmered in the distance like a mean-spirited heathen God of diseased greed; rapturous and belching out the capitalistic indulgence of America as if in the throes of passion.

From Salon

That justifies viewing others as “heathens,” including the enslaved Blacks and the Native Americans whose land was being taken.

“I was looking for the heathens, but there are none,” said Wayne Harris, 75, who had traveled from costal Rockport, Texas.

He added that in his view the modern tradition of Halloween had been conceived in a "heathen, contemporary world", as a counterbalance to the Catholic feast of All Souls' Day.

From BBC

“I sent him away so he could be free from her influence. Not that a heathen would understand salvation.”

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heath cockˈheathendom









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