heathen

Pluralheathens, heathen

1. 1
   pagan personnounoffensivecountable

   A pagan; a person who is not Christian, Jewish or Muslim, and in some uses not of any other monotheistic faith either; loosely, anyone seen as having no religion.

   In the old saga, the king's priests called every foreigner a heathen.

   The missionaries sailed to the islands hoping to convert the heathens they had heard about.

   UsageIn neutral writing, name the person's religion, or say they have no religion, as appropriate. Use pagan only when it accurately describes their beliefs.

   Similarpagan, infidel, unbeliever

   Note

   Like the adjective, the noun is an outsider's label for people of another faith.

2. 2
   adjectiveoffensive

   Not following an Abrahamic religion such as Christianity, Judaism or Islam; pagan.

   The chapel was built on the site of an old heathen temple.

   Some heathen customs lived on in the village festivals long after the people became Christian.

   UsageIn neutral writing, name the specific religion. Use pagan only when it accurately describes the beliefs.

   Similarpagan

   Note

   It has long been a label applied from outside a faith, so it can sound dismissive today. The exception is its use within modern Heathenry, where believers take the word for themselves. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The word has historically been applied by religious outsiders. en.wikipedia.org
3. 3
   uncultured personnouncountable

   A person regarded as uncultured or uncivilized; a philistine.

   Only a heathen would put ketchup on a steak this good.

   My roommates are heathens who think opera is just loud singing.

   UsageUsually humorous, about taste: only a heathen would put ketchup on that.

   Similarphilistine, barbarian, savage

4. 4
   adjective

   Uncultured or uncivilized; savage or barbarous.

   Eating pizza with a knife and fork struck him as a heathen habit.

   Waking the whole house at five on a Sunday is a heathen thing to do.

   UsageToday often half in jest, aimed at small lapses of taste or manners: a heathen habit.

   Similarbarbaric, barbarous, uncivilized, savage, uncultured

   Oppositecivilized, cultured

   Note

   The religious label stretched into a judgment of manners: people outside the faith were pictured as wild and uncultured, and that picture became a meaning of its own. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • The uncultured or uncivilized sense developed as an extension of the religious sense. en.wiktionary.org
   • Religious outsiders were associated with being uncivilized. gutenberg.org
5. 5
   Germanic believernouncountable

   Alternative letter-case form of Heathen: a follower of Heathenry, a modern religion reviving the pre-Christian beliefs of the Germanic peoples.

   As a heathen, she marks the old Germanic festivals with a small group of fellow believers.

   He describes himself as a heathen and keeps a small shrine to Odin in his garden.

6. 6
   adjective

   Alternative letter-case form of Heathen: of or relating to Heathenry, a modern religion reviving the pre-Christian beliefs of the Germanic peoples.

   The festival drew members of several heathen groups devoted to the old Norse gods.

   She writes a blog about modern heathen practice and its revival of Germanic rites.

   Note

   Followers of Heathenry, a modern revival of the old Germanic religion, usually capitalize the word, as with Christian or Pagan, though the small letter also appears. Written lowercase, it can blur into the older outsider's label, so a writer who means the modern faith does well to capitalize it or name Heathenry. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

   • Heathenry is a modern religion seeking to revive pre-Christian Germanic religions. en.wikipedia.org

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