agnostic

UK: /ægˈnɒstɪk/ US: /ægˈnɑstɪk/ ,(ag nos′tik)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

ag•nos•tic /ægˈnɑstɪk/   n. [countable]

1. Religion, Philosophy a person who believes that no one can know for certain about the existence of God.

adj. 

2. Philosophy of or relating to agnostics.

ag•nos•ti•cism /ægˈnɑstəˌsɪzəm/  n. [uncountable] See -gnos-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

ag•nos•tic  (ag nos′tik), n. 

1. Philosophy a person who holds that the existence of the ultimate cause, as God, and the essential nature of things are unknown and unknowable, or that human knowledge is limited to experience.
2. Philosophy a person who denies or doubts the possibility of ultimate knowledge in some area of study.

adj. 

3. Philosophy of or pertaining to agnostics or agnosticism.
4. Philosophy asserting the uncertainty of all claims to knowledge.

• Greek ágnōst(os), variant of ágnōtos not known, incapable of being known (a- a-⁶ + gnōtós known, adjective, adjectival derivative from base of gignó̄skein to know) + -ic, after gnostic; said to have been coined by T.H. Huxley in 1869

ag•nos′ti•cal•ly, adv. 
Synonyms

• 1. See atheist. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

agnostic / æɡˈnɒstɪk/ noun

1. a person who holds that knowledge of a Supreme Being, ultimate cause, etc, is impossible
   Compare atheist, theist
2. a person who claims, with respect to any particular question, that the answer cannot be known with certainty

adjective

1. of or relating to agnostics
2. (of technology) designed to be compatible with any appliance or operating system

Etymology: 19th Century: coined 1869 by T. H. Huxley from a-¹ + gnostic

agˈnosticism noun