heathen
/ˈhiːðən/
heathen adjective: not adhering to an Abrahamic religion; pagan. Also the alternative letter-case form of Heathen.
Adjective (1)
heathen (comparative heathener or more heathen, superlative heathenest or most heathen)
- Not adhering to an Abrahamic religion; pagan.
- War of holy principles
I'm seeking God's help in your destruction
Slit the throat of heathen man
And let his blood dilute the water, bury your dead2006, Jeff Hanneman, “Jihad”, Tom Araya (lyrics), performed by Slayer
- Synonyms:
- heathenish, heathenly, heathenous, pagan
- War of holy principles
- Uncultured; uncivilized; savage; barbarian.
- Synonyms:
- barbarous, pagan, uncultivated, animalistic, barbarian, barbaric, barbarious, brutal, brutish, Gothic
Noun (1)
heathen (plural heathens or heathen)
- A pagan; someone who is neither Christian, Jewish, nor Muslim (other Abrahamic or monotheistic religions may or may not be included)
- On the heathens coming alongside the vessel, Otnit assumes the character of a merchant, and is admitted to enter the port.1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 211
- V. Knox
If it is no more than a moral discourse, he may preach it and they may hear it, and yet both continue unconverted heathens.
- Synonyms:
- infidel
- An uncultured or uncivilized person, philistine.
Adjective (2) capitalized: Heathen
Heathen (not comparable)
Noun (2) capitalized: Heathen
Heathen (plural Heathens)
- An adherent of the Germanic neo-pagan faith of Heathenry.
- […] these examples, and others I have come across, illustrate most strikingly how Heathens follow a reactionary politics carefully constructed by politicians and pundits to help whites feel like victims, thereby making them useful political tools.2013, Jennifer Snook, “Reconsidering Heathenry: The Construction of an Ethnic Folkway as Religio-ethnic Identity”, in Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, volume 16...
Also used as
heathen is also the alternative letter-case form of Heathen.
heathen is also the alternative form of Heathen.
heathen meaning in Hindi, Urdu, Pashto and Arabic
heathen in Hindi
- person who does not follow an Abrahamic religion
- बुतपरस्त butparast
heathen in Urdu
- person who does not follow an Abrahamic religion
- بُت پَرَسْت but parast
heathen in Pashto
- person who does not follow an Abrahamic religion
- بت پرست bot parast
heathen in Arabic
- not adhering to an Abrahamic religion
- وَثَنِيّ waṯaniyy
- person who does not follow an Abrahamic religion
- وَثَنِيّ waṯaniyy, وَثَنِيَّة waṯaniyya, مُشْرِك mušrik
More languagesFewer languages
- heathen in Vietnamese
- ngoại đạo
Examples of heathen in a sentence
- The Christens found the heathens dear, as the lion doth the bear.
- Traditionally missionaries aim to rescue many ignorant heathen souls.
- If it is no more than a moral discourse, he may preach it and they may hear it, and yet both continue unconverted heathens.
Synonyms of heathen
16 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of heathen
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | heathener |
| comparative | more heathen |
| superlative | heathenest |
| superlative | most heathen |
| Noun | |
| plural | heathens |
| plural | heathen |
| plural | Heathens |
Origin of heathen
From Middle English hethen, from Old English hǣþen, from Proto-West Germanic *haiþin, from Proto-Germanic *haiþīnaz (“heathen, pagan”, adjective), equivalent to heath (“heathland”) + -en. Cognate with West Frisian heiden, Dutch heiden, Middle High German heiden, German Heiden, German Heide, Swedish heden, Danish hedensk (from heden + -sk), Icelandic heiðinn. See also Proto-Germanic *haiduz, Old Norse heiðr (honour, bright, moor), Icelandic heiður (honour).
From heathen.
Words formed from heathen
Questions about heathen
- What does heathen mean?
- Heathen means not adhering to an Abrahamic religion; pagan.
- What is heathen in Hindi?
- Heathen in Hindi is बुतपरस्त (butparast). See Heathen meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is heathen?
- Heathen can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce heathen?
- Heathen is pronounced /ˈhiːðən/.
Words near heathen in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: heathen (page history and authors); Heathen (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-heathen.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Heathen.wav.
Cite this entry: “heathen.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/heathen. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.