agnosticism

[ ag-nos-tuh-siz-uhm ]
See synonyms for agnosticism on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the belief that the answers to the basic questions of existence, such as the nature of the ultimate cause and whether or not there is a supreme being, are unknown or unknowable.

  2. an intellectual doctrine or attitude affirming the uncertainty of all claims to ultimate knowledge.

  1. an attitude or view that does not conform to either of two opposing positions on a topic.

Origin of agnosticism

1
First recorded in 1870–75; agnostic + -ism

Words Nearby agnosticism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use agnosticism in a sentence

  • agnosticism, he says, is a method the essence of which may be expressed in a single principle.

    Theism or Atheism | Chapman Cohen
  • We three, of differing degrees of agnosticism, looked at her, struck with the boldness of the thought.

    The Wasted Generation | Owen Johnson
  • Isnt it founded on the idea of force, and isnt that what would result from any State formed on agnosticism?

    The Wasted Generation | Owen Johnson
  • Gersonides was opposed to Maimonides's radical agnosticism in respect of the nature of God, and defended a more human view.

Cultural definitions for agnosticism

agnosticism

[ (ag-nos-tuh-siz-uhm) ]


A denial of knowledge about whether there is or is not a God. An agnostic insists that it is impossible to prove that there is no God and impossible to prove that there is one. (Compare atheism.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.