as in gentile
a person who does not worship the God of the Bible
the temple was built by pagans in the 4th century as a place to worship their idols
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as in secular
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Recent Examples of pagan
Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 22 Feb. 2025
Over time, my conquistadors retired, and my pagan temples got demolished to make way for grocery stores.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2025
As de Kort tells Live Science, these treasures were buried in several deposits that might have constituted offerings to a pagan god—possibly Wodan, the Germanic persona of the Norse god Odin.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Feb. 2025
That is an ancient pagan symbol coopted by Germany’s Nazi regime and worn prominently during World War II on the uniforms of the brutal Waffen SS units.
—Matthew Kriner, The Conversation, 3 Feb. 2025
The tradition of houses of worship providing sanctuary predates Christianity, and was practiced in pagan temples.
—Sarah Matusek, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Jan. 2025
Hebrew prophets, in turn, began transforming pagan cycles of birth, death, and renewal into a rectilinear history.
—Arthur Krystal, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
Missionaries to Europe Popes began to send missionaries to convert other pagan peoples in Europe.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 15 Jan. 2025
The seasonal rites, as old as pagan times, are so ancient and organic that no one thinks to question them.
—Sam Sacks, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
Atlanta Life, ajc, 10 Nov. 2017
While plague stalks the land, paranoid peasants swap cautionary folk tales about evil spirits, pagans, Jews and other outsiders.
—Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Oct. 2017
Thomas Jefferson had strong views on religion, but his Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom disestablished the Church of Englandand established religious liberty for Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, even pagans.
—Jonah Goldberg, Alaska Dispatch News, 27 Sep. 2017
Lance Wallnau, a Christian author, claimed God spoke to him and showed him that Trump was like King Cyrus, who followed God’s will despite being a pagan.
—Colby Itkowitz, Washington Post, 23 Aug. 2017
To do Trumpzilla justice, the film should be blustery, spectacular, gold-garish, and neo-pagan, a Circus Maximus Cecil B. DeMille might have whipped up with his riding crop after a fever dream.
—James Wolcott, HWD, 19 June 2017
Noun
This attempt to turn back the clock included the purging of Christian texts from schools, the conversion of Christian churches into pagan temples, and religious persecution as it had been practiced in centuries past.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 22 Feb. 2025
Over time, my conquistadors retired, and my pagan temples got demolished to make way for grocery stores.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2025
As de Kort tells Live Science, these treasures were buried in several deposits that might have constituted offerings to a pagan god—possibly Wodan, the Germanic persona of the Norse god Odin.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Feb. 2025
That is an ancient pagan symbol coopted by Germany’s Nazi regime and worn prominently during World War II on the uniforms of the brutal Waffen SS units.
—Matthew Kriner, The Conversation, 3 Feb. 2025
The tradition of houses of worship providing sanctuary predates Christianity, and was practiced in pagan temples.
—Sarah Matusek, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Jan. 2025
Hebrew prophets, in turn, began transforming pagan cycles of birth, death, and renewal into a rectilinear history.
—Arthur Krystal, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
Missionaries to Europe Popes began to send missionaries to convert other pagan peoples in Europe.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 15 Jan. 2025
The seasonal rites, as old as pagan times, are so ancient and organic that no one thinks to question them.
—Sam Sacks, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
Adjective
Church officials decided to recognize Dec. 25 as his birthday, probably to coincide with the date of pagan festivals in an attempt to get pagans to accept Christianity as the official religion.
—Atlanta Life, ajc, 10 Nov. 2017
While plague stalks the land, paranoid peasants swap cautionary folk tales about evil spirits, pagans, Jews and other outsiders.
—Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Oct. 2017
Thomas Jefferson had strong views on religion, but his Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom disestablished the Church of Englandand established religious liberty for Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, even pagans.
—Jonah Goldberg, Alaska Dispatch News, 27 Sep. 2017
Lance Wallnau, a Christian author, claimed God spoke to him and showed him that Trump was like King Cyrus, who followed God’s will despite being a pagan.
—Colby Itkowitz, Washington Post, 23 Aug. 2017
To do Trumpzilla justice, the film should be blustery, spectacular, gold-garish, and neo-pagan, a Circus Maximus Cecil B. DeMille might have whipped up with his riding crop after a fever dream.
—James Wolcott, HWD, 19 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pagan
Noun
-
However, Piven’s character Harold May is Jewish, and amid the rise of Hitler in Germany, his ability to pass as a gentile could be a matter of life and death.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
13 Jan. 2025
-
The script swiftly navigates what could be sensitive waters, finding good-natured humor in the inflection points of Jewish and gentile relations without ever being disparaging.—
Erin Strecker,
IndieWire,
23 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
The secular shift is evident in the slope of the monthly cloud model, which points higher looking out to mid-2027.—
Katie Stockton,
CNBC,
28 July 2025
-
The operating environment remains challenging for all ad sellers, particularly legacy companies coping with the secular decline of linear TV.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
22 July 2025
Adjective
-
Here, Lispector offers a counter to the godless existentialism of Sartre, which reduces one to a purposeless, directionless, and isolated state.—
Terry Nguyen
July 23,
Literary Hub,
23 July 2025
-
Highlights of the book with the proudly, grammatically incorrect title include rants against nature, those godless Hollywood liberals, and how everything is trying to turn red-blooded Americans gay.—
Brian Boone,
Vulture,
18 June 2025
Noun
-
There are Sunni and Shiite Muslims, atheists and Baha'is, Afghan and Iraqi refugees.—
Nuri Kino,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 June 2025
-
To match Silicon Valley’s escalating rhetoric, AI skeptics have ramped up their own, like atheists heckling from the pews at Mass.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
8 July 2025
Adjective
-
Stewart’s switch from his usual snark to imitate Colbert’s buffoonery proved how spiteful and irreligious political humor has become since the left’s worship of Barack Obama and subsequent persecution of President Trump.—
Armond White,
National Review,
25 July 2025
-
Silverstein had a much different experience growing up, given the fact that his parents were both Baalei teshuva (irreligious Jews who become more observant later in life).—
Josh Weiss,
Forbes.com,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
So, what is the difference between people who are nonreligious vs. those who are secular?—
David Campbell,
The Conversation,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Several nonreligious practices create opportunities to explore spirituality beyond religious affiliation.—
Morgan Shipley,
The Conversation,
31 Oct. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Pagan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pagan. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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