Definitions for heathen
ˈhi ðənhea·then

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. heathen, pagan, gentile, infideladjective

   a person who does not acknowledge your god

2. heathen, heathenish, pagan, ethnicadjective

   not acknowledging the God of Christianity and Judaism and Islam

WiktionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. heathennoun

   A person who does not follow an Abrahamic religion; a pagan.

2. heathennoun

   An uncultured or uncivilized person, philistine.

3. heathennoun

   Self-designation of some adherents of neo-paganism.

4. heathenadjective

   not adhering to an Abrahamic religion; pagan.

5. heathenadjective

   uncultured; uncivilized; savage, philistine.

6. heathenadjective

   pertaining to currents of Germanic neo-paganism known as Heathenry.

7. Etymology: Germanic: from hǣþen, akin to heath on the moor, the poor, 'wild' countryside; cognate with Dutch heiden, German Heide.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Heathenadjective

   Gentile; pagan.

   It was impossible for a heathen author to relate these things, because, if he had believed them, he would no longer have been a heathen. Addison.

2. HEATHENnoun

   The gentiles; the pagans; the nations unacquainted with the covenant of grace.

   Etymology: heyden, German.

   Deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name. 1 Chro. xvi. 35.

   If the opinions of others, whom we think well of, be a ground of assent, men have reason to be heathens in Japan, mahometans in Turkey, papists in Spain, and protestants in England. John Locke.

   In a paper of morality, I consider how I may recommend the particular virtues I treat of, by the precepts or examples of the ancient heathens. Joseph Addison, Spectator.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Heathen

   of Heathen

2. Heathennoun

   an individual of the pagan or unbelieving nations, or those which worship idols and do not acknowledge the true God; a pagan; an idolater

3. Heathennoun

   an irreligious person

4. Heathenadjective

   gentile; pagan; as, a heathen author

5. Heathenadjective

   barbarous; unenlightened; heathenish

6. Heathenadjective

   irreligious; scoffing

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Heathen

   Heathen is the 22nd studio album by English rock musician David Bowie, released in 2002. It was considered a comeback for him in the US market; it was his highest charting album since Tonight, and earned some of his strongest reviews since Scary Monsters. Worldwide, it sold over two million copies and experienced a four-month run on the UK charts. Although its production had started before September 11 attacks in 2001, the album was finished after that date, which ended up influencing its concept.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Heathen

   hē′thn, n. an inhabitant of an unchristian country, one neither Christian, Jewish, nor Mohammedan: (B.) the Gentiles: a pagan: an irreligious person.—adj. pagan, irreligious.—n. Hea′thendom, the condition of a heathen: those regions of the world where heathenism prevails.—v.t. Hea′thenise, to make heathen or heathenish.—adj. Hea′thenish, relating to the heathen: rude: uncivilised: cruel.—adv. Hea′thenishly.—ns. Hea′thenishness; Hea′thenism, the religious system of the heathens: paganism: barbarism; Hea′thenry, heathenism: heathendom. [A.S. hǽðen, a heathen; Dut. heiden.]

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. heathen

   Song lyrics by heathen -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by heathen on the Lyrics.com website.

Etymology and OriginsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Heathen

   Literally a dweller on a heath in the open country. The Romans applied the term to those who, having no communion with the dwellers in cities, were cut off from all knowledge of their complicated system of mythology. When Rome became converted to Christianity the untutored inhabitants of the country at large were the last to receive the Gospel. A heathen nation therefore, in a religious sense, is one far removed from civilisation, which offers a fruitful field for missionary work.

How to pronounce heathen?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say heathen in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of heathen in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of heathen in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of heathen in a Sentence

1. Najmaddin Faraj Ahmad:

   Whoever offends our religion and our honor, must understand that this is a conflict about life and death, the cartoonist has become a fighting heathen whom it is permissible to kill.

2. Harriet Beecher Stowe:

   Nobody had ever instructed him that a slave-ship, with a procession of expectant sharks in its wake, is a missionary institution, by which closely-packed heathen are brought over to enjoy the light of the Gospel.

3. George Eliot:

   It is, I fear, but a vain show of fulfilling the heathen precept, Know thyself, and too often leads to a self-estimate which will subsist in the absence of that fruit by which alone the quality of the tree is made evident.

4. Carl Jung:

   The Christian missionary may preach the gospel to the poor naked heathen, but the spiritual heathen who populate Europe have as yet heard nothing of Christianity.

5. Harriet Beecher Stowe:

   I would not attack the faith of a heathen without being sure I had a better one to put in its place.

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