agnostic

/ægˈnɑsɾɪk/

/ægˈnɒstɪk/

Other forms: agnostics; agnostically

If someone believes they cannot know whether or not God exists, that person is an agnostic. Your grandmother might be a devout believer, while your mom is agnostic.

In 1869, English biologist T.H. Huxley coined this noun referring to someone whose religious beliefs lie somewhere in between those of a theist and an atheist — that is, a believer and a disbeliever. Huxley combined the Greek prefix a-, meaning "not," with gnostos, "known." This word can be used as a noun or adjective, and it can also refer to uncertainty about questions other than the existence of God: "Some philosophers remain agnostic as to whether people have free will."

Definitions of agnostic

1. noun

   a person who claims that they cannot have true knowledge about the existence of God (but does not deny that God might exist)
   type of:

   religious person

   a person who manifests devotion to a deity
2. noun

   someone who is doubtful or noncommittal about something
   synonyms: doubter

   type of:

   individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul

   a human being
3. adjective

   of or pertaining to an agnostic or agnosticism
4. adjective

   uncertain of all claims to knowledge
   synonyms: agnostical

   nescient, unbelieving

   holding that only material phenomena can be known and knowledge of spiritual matters or ultimate causes is impossible

   antonyms:

   gnostic

   possessing intellectual or esoteric knowledge of spiritual things