atheist

[ey-thee-ist] /ˈeɪ θi ɪst/
noun
1.
a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.
Origin
1565-75; < Greek áthe(os) godless + -ist
Related forms
antiatheist, noun, adjective
proatheist, noun, adjective
Can be confused
agnostic, atheist (see synonym study at the current entry)
atheist, theist, deist.
Synonyms
Atheist, agnostic, infidel, skeptic refer to persons not inclined toward religious belief or a particular form of religious belief. An atheist is one who denies the existence of a deity or of divine beings. An agnostic is one who believes it impossible to know anything about God or about the creation of the universe and refrains from commitment to any religious doctrine. Infidel means an unbeliever, especially a nonbeliever in Islam or Christianity. A skeptic doubts and is critical of all accepted doctrines and creeds.
Examples from the web for atheist
  • He began describing his country as secular rather than atheist.
British Dictionary definitions for atheist

atheist

/ˈeɪθɪˌɪst/
noun
1.
a person who does not believe in God or gods
adjective
2.
of or relating to atheists or atheism
Derived Forms
atheistic, atheistical, adjective
atheistically, adverb
Word Origin and History for atheist
n.

1570s, from French athéiste (16c.), from Greek atheos "without god, denying the gods; abandoned of the gods; godless, ungodly," from a- "without" + theos "a god" (see Thea).

The existence of a world without God seems to me less absurd than the presence of a God, existing in all his perfection, creating an imperfect man in order to make him run the risk of Hell. [Armand Salacrou, "Certitudes et incertitudes," 1943]