agnostic
noun
ag·nos·tic
| \ ag-ËnĂ€-stik
, Ég-\
, Ég-\
Definition of agnostic
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (such as God) is unknown and probably unknowable
broadly
: one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of God or a god
2
: a person who is unwilling to commit to an opinion about something
political agnostics
agnostic
adjective
ag·nos·tic
| \ ag-ËnĂ€s-tik
, Ég-\
, Ég-\
Definition of agnostic (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: of, relating to, or being an agnostic : involving or characterized by agnosticism
2
: noncommittal, undogmatic
3 usually used after a noun
a
: not preferring a particular device or system
"Children are platform agnostic," said Alice Cahn, vice-president of development for Cartoon Network. "If you want to look foolish with a preschooler, say, 'Sorry, you can't watch that. It's not on.' It's TiVoed, it's online, it's on video on demand." — Business Wire
b
: designed to be compatible with different devices (such as computers or smartphones) or operating systems
content that is OS agnostic
—often used in combination The application is platform-agnostic, so it can work on your tablet or cell phone.
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Other Words from agnostic
Noun
agnosticism
\ ag-ËnĂ€-stÉ-Ësi-zÉm
, Ég- \
noun
, Ég- \
noun
Examples of agnostic in a Sentence
Noun
Even polytheists ⊠were in fact tolerated, as Islamic rule spread to most of India. Only the total unbelieverâthe agnostic or atheistâwas beyond the pale of tolerance ⊠— Bernard Lewis, Islam in History, 1993 Supporters of education vouchers ⊠will love what Norman Macrae has to say on the subject. Teachers' unions and other opponents of vouchers ⊠will deplore it. Voucher agnostics (and I include myself) might find that the proposal not only answers most doubts but also makes sense on issues they've never much thought about. — William Raspberry, Springfield (Massachusetts) Union, 14 Aug. 1987 I call myself an agnostic. I do not really have any faith, any coherent religious faith, and yet the one thing in my life that I feel passionate and evangelical about is poetry. — Maxine Kumin, "An Interview at Interlochen," 1977, in To Make a Prairie, 1979Adjective
Cladistics classifies organisms in nested hierarchies based exclusively on their order of branching. (I should say that I am quite agnostic about this theory, so I do not write as a shill.) — Stephen Jay Gould, Natural History, March 1995 The composition comes alive in stanzas V and VI. This is the dark night. I hoped my readers would remember John of the Cross's poem. My night is not gracious, but secular, puritan, and agnostic. An existentialist night. — Robert Lowell, Collected Prose, 1987 ⊠I thought that by the time I was past thirty-fiveâat the very least agnostic and surely swept by the bleak winds of existentialismâI had abandoned the Presbyterian precepts of my childhood. — William Styron, This Quiet Dust and Other Writings, 1982
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Tickets for the concert â which will also include performances by the DJ Marshmello and the genre-agnostic singer Quinn XCII â are sold out, but the resale market is well-stocked. — New York Times, "The Week in Arts: Alton Brown Returns; Lil Nas X Plays the Hit," 24 Aug. 2019 Where Buchheim and Petersen took an agnostic, documentary approach to the all-male crews aboard their boats, this new Das Boot frames the U-boat war as a form of toxic masculinity. — Adrian Daub, The New Republic, "Huluâs Das Boot Gets Lost at Sea," 19 June 2019 Although she was raised Mormon, Ardern now identifies as agnostic, according to The New Zealand Herald. — Tiffany Diane Tso, refinery29.com, "The Cosmic Connection Between Marianne Williamson & Jacinda Ardern," 28 June 2019 Gazing at the starsâdreaming of whatâs out thereâis an almost innate aspect of the human condition, agnostic of language, geographic location, socioeconomic class, or culture. — Eric Desatnik, Quartz, "We should care more about the deep sea than we do deep space," 20 June 2019 At one end of the spectrum were members of the clergy; at the other were agnostic and atheist scientists. — Sam Wineburg, Smithsonian, "What George Washingtonâs Views on Religion and America Donât Translate Well to Todayâs Politics," 12 June 2019 In 2014, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a group of atheists and agnostics that uses advocacy and litigation to wall off government from religion, filed a lawsuit challenging the practice. — Joe Palazzolo, WSJ, "Prayers at School Board Meetings Test Church-State Divide," 27 Dec. 2018 The sort of centrist, agnostic, big-tent rock that Hootie specialized in, and that served as a bridge between eras of far more abrasive material, has all but vanished from the rock mainstream, inasmuch as there is even a rock mainstream anymore. — Jon Caramanica, New York Times, "Hootie & the Blowfish, Great American Rock Band (Yes, Really)," 6 June 2019 Just why so many agnostics, and even atheists, believe in a higher power is a matter of debate. — Washington Post, "Most Americans believe in a higher power, but not always in the God of the Bible," 25 Apr. 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
This allows the novel to remain agnostic about his true abilities, and about its own stance toward psychic powers more generally. — Garth Greenwell, The New Yorker, "Caleb Crainâs âOverthrowâ and the Power of Literary Form," 28 Aug. 2019 Fortunately for them, Ikea has so far taken a platform agnostic approach, supporting the Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa ecosystems through its Tradfri gateway. — Thomas Ricker, The Verge, "Ikea goes all in on smart home tech," 17 Aug. 2019 More broadly, its agnostic approach to energy sources provides a way for oil and gas to stay viable economically compared to more dramatic climate change proposals that would seek to phase out fossil fuels more rapidly. — Justin Worland, Time, "The World's Largest Automakers Asked Trump Not to Loosen a Climate Change Standard. Here's Why," 7 June 2019 All else being equal, a 62-year-old white, Christian Democrats who lives in rural Montana will loathe Republicans less than a 23-year-old Hispanic, agnostic Democrat who lives in Los Angeles. — Ezra Klein, Vox, "The political tribalism of Andrew Sullivan," 11 Dec. 2018 Paradoxically, the central European country that has tried hardest to plug itself into the EUâs heart often seems most agnostic about its orientation. — The Economist, "A struggle between authoritarians and liberals in the heart of Europe," 26 May 2018 In their shared legal brief, however, the CLS and NAE remain agnostic about the presidentâs motives. — Tobin Grant, Washington Post, "Why some religious-freedom groups wonât take a stand on the travel ban," 25 Apr. 2018 And with a Disney streaming service coming, Netflixâs agnostic approach to quality may come back to haunt it. — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, "Can Netflix Take Over Hollywood?," 24 Apr. 2018 For example, the study in press used the agnostic approach. — Nicholette Zeliadt, Scientific American, "Some Mutations Tied to Autism May Be Passed Down from Fathers," 19 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'agnostic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for agnostic
agnostic
noun
English Language Learners Definition of agnostic
: a person who does not have a definite belief about whether God exists or not
: a person who does not believe or is unsure of something
See the full definition for agnostic in the English Language Learners Dictionary