nonbeliever

noun

non·​be·​liev·​er ˌnän-bə-ˈlē-vər How to pronounce nonbeliever (audio)
: a person who is not a believer
… a well-known nonbeliever in holiday sales or discounts …Seung Lee
a nonbeliever in ghosts
especially : atheist
… had grown up in the West and gone to college as a nonbeliever in the Bible Belt … Tim Keown

Examples of nonbeliever in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web So even this Court appears to believe there are some limits on the government’s ability to impose Christianity on nonbelievers. Ian Millhiser, Vox, 25 June 2024 Image Image Many traditional Christians hold that Christ will return in judgment, and that sinners and nonbelievers will be cast into eternal damnation. Clay Risen, New York Times, 8 June 2024 Different factions disagree on whether and when to declare an Islamic state, how to handle nonbelievers and the insufficiently pious, which enemy to target first, and, of course, who should be the overall leader of the movement. Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 24 Aug. 2021 The desire to bring back a traditional Muslim way of life from before the French arrived—with the implications this held for the role of women or nonbelievers—became the animating force of the uprising and the essential purpose of throwing off colonialism. Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for nonbeliever 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nonbeliever.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1649, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of nonbeliever was in 1649

Dictionary Entries Near nonbeliever

Cite this Entry

“Nonbeliever.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonbeliever. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.

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