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agnostic definition

ag·nos·tic (ag näs′tik)

noun

a person who believes that the human mind cannot know whether there is a God or an ultimate cause, or anything beyond material phenomena

Etymology: coined (1870) by Thomas Henry Huxley < a- + gnostic

adjective

of or characteristic of an agnostic or agnosticism

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

agnostic Synonyms

agnostic

n.

freethinker, unbeliever, skeptic, doubter; see skeptic. See syn. study atatheist.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

agnostic Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • remain: The Party remains agnostic over the exact choice of reference period for calculating working hours.

Preposition: on

  • question: She is an agnostic on the question of whether this transformation was ' for good or ill ' ( p. 6 ).

Adjective modifier

  • lifelong: To start with, she was a lifelong agnostic.

Modifies a noun

  • attitude: Nor does the agnostic attitude mean that it is equally probable whether the mind is or is not a spirit.

Modifying Another Word

  • not: I have no reason to believe there is a God, therefore I'm not agnostic, I'm an atheist.

Noun used with modifier

  • hardware: About Amiga Amiga Inc. provides technology to developers for writing and porting applications to a new multi-media operating system which is hardware agnostic.

Used with adjective complement

  • remain: The UK Monetary Policy Committee remains largely agnostic on the New Economy.

Preposition: with

  • respect: Otherwise, let those who call themselves agnostic with respect to religion add that they are equally agnostic about orbiting teapots.
agnostic usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

agnostic quotes

   Most of my colleagues were -ists of one sort or another; and however kind and friendly they might be, I, the man without a rag of a label to cover himself with, could not fail to have some of theuneasy feelings which must have beset the historical fox when, after leaving the trap in which his tail remained, he presented himself to his normally elongated companions. So I took thought, and invented what I conceived to be the appropriate title of 'agnostic'.

-Huxley,T(homas) H(enry)

agnostic quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"agnostic." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/agnostic>

APA Style

agnostic. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/agnostic

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