agnostic

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“
He never admitted William's presence by so much as a purr or a claw, and I have noticed that the agnostic is the only creature living who can treat a preacher with so much contempt.

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Definitions (14)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (6)

  1. noun One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God.
  2. noun One who is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism.
  3. noun One who is doubtful or noncommittal about something.
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Examples (50)

  • And global capital is agnostic -- it has no loyalties. —  Euvin Naidoo on investing in Africa
  • About 20 percent are agnostic, and the rest could fairly be called atheists. —  Richard Dawkins on militant atheism
  • Bertrand Russell -- agnostic, pacifist, great humanitarian, and Nobel Prize laureate -- reviews in this volume the conflict between science and traditional religion during the last four centuries, and attempts to estimate the influence of present-day science upon present-day theology. —  AvaxHome RSS:
  • They should be providing contextual ads that are site agnostic, among many other things. —  Journalism Hope - Seeking Hope via Grassroots Journalism
  • (I was brought up agnostic, and I think agnostics need more traditions - some special days and food and celebratory wine!) —  knitnut.net
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. a-1 + Gnostic.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Greek ἂγνωστος, unknowing, unknown, unknowable, from ἀ- privative, not, + γνωστός, later form of γνωτός, known, to be known (cf. γνωστικός, good at knowing), verbal adjective of γι-γνώ-σκ-ειν, know, =L. *gno-scere, no-sc-ere = English know: see a- and gnostic. The word agnostic was “suggested by Prof. Huxley … in 1869. … He took it from St. Paul's mention of the altar to ‘the Unknown God’ [ἀγνώστῳ θεῷ, Acts xvii. 23]. R. H. Hutton, in letter, … 1881.” N. English D.
 

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/ægˈnɑstɪk/
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