# atheist

Pronunciation: say "AY-thee-ist" /ˈeɪθiɪst/

## Noun

1. A person who does not believe in the existence of any gods or deities.
   - Simple: Someone who does not believe that any gods exist.
   - _The author identifies as an atheist but respects religious traditions._
   - _Many atheists rely on science rather than scripture to explain the world._
2. Someone who is sure that there are no gods, or who believes it can be proven that there are none.
   - Simple: Someone who is sure that no gods exist, or that you can prove there are none.
   - _As a committed atheist, he argued that the nonexistence of gods could be proven._
   - _Strong atheists go beyond doubt, insisting that no deities are real._
3. A person who doubts the existence of deities, a sense broad enough that even an agnostic may count as one.
   - Simple: Someone who doubts that any gods exist, even if they are not completely sure.
   - _By this broad definition, even a doubting agnostic might be called an atheist._
   - _Some atheists never deny gods outright; they only question the evidence for them._
5. Any person who lacks belief in deities, including someone such as a child who has never been aware of religion.
   - Simple: Anyone who does not believe in gods, even a child who has never heard of religion.
   - _Under the widest definition, an atheist is simply anyone without belief in a god, even unknowingly._
   - _Atheists in this broad sense include young children who have never encountered the idea of religion._
6. A person who does not follow any religion, not even a godless one; a nonreligious person.
   - Simple: Someone who follows no religion at all, not even one without gods.
   - _In everyday talk, an atheist is often just someone with no religion._
   - _Plenty of atheists keep away from every faith, including ones without any gods._

## Adjective

4. Relating to atheists or to the beliefs and outlook of atheism.
   - Simple: Having to do with atheists or with not believing in gods.
   - _The magazine published an atheist critique of organized religion._
   - _His atheist convictions shaped how he raised his children._

## Noun

7. A person who does not believe in a particular deity, while possibly believing in another. *(rare)*
   - Simple: Someone who does not believe in one certain god, but might believe in a different one.
   - _In a polytheistic society, anyone who denied a single official god could be branded an atheist._
   - _Early Christians were called atheists for rejecting the Roman gods._

## Verb

8. To turn a person into an atheist, causing them to give up belief in any deity. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To turn someone into a person who does not believe in gods.
   - _The professor's relentless logic seemed to atheist his students one by one._
   - _War atheisted many soldiers who had once prayed daily._

## Origin

It comes from Middle French athéiste, from Latin atheos, from Ancient Greek ἄθεος (átheos, 'godless, without god'), formed from ἀ- (a-, 'without') and θεός (theós, 'god').

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/atheist (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).