as in dissenter
disapproving
a person who does not believe in a religion that someone regards as the true religion
The theocracy regarded as infidels anyone that did not practice their religion.
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Recent Examples of infidel
What’s surprising about The Covenant is that the usual gung-ho American military bravery is mostly downplayed to focus on the strategic backup provided by on-the-ground interpreters, who risked being branded as infidels, ostracized by their compatriots and tagged for Taliban reprisals.
—
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Apr. 2023
When one follower demonstrated logically the existence of irrational numbers—numbers that cannot be expressed as a fraction, and that continue on indefinitely when expressed in decimals—the Pythagoreans are said to have taken the infidel out on a boat and tossed him overboard.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 9 May 2022
Nazar described passing through checkpoints where Taliban guards cursed him as an infidel and whipped people with chains, and being hit with tear gas by U.S. marines.
—Megan K. Stack, The New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2021
An illustration in a 13th-century German psalter, for example, shows a Christian angel using a sword to force infidels into the gate of hell, represented as a monster with a gaping, flaming mouth.
—Steven Litt, cleveland.com, 1 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for infidel
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Apr. 2023
When one follower demonstrated logically the existence of irrational numbers—numbers that cannot be expressed as a fraction, and that continue on indefinitely when expressed in decimals—the Pythagoreans are said to have taken the infidel out on a boat and tossed him overboard.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 9 May 2022
Nazar described passing through checkpoints where Taliban guards cursed him as an infidel and whipped people with chains, and being hit with tear gas by U.S. marines.
—Megan K. Stack, The New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2021
An illustration in a 13th-century German psalter, for example, shows a Christian angel using a sword to force infidels into the gate of hell, represented as a monster with a gaping, flaming mouth.
—Steven Litt, cleveland.com, 1 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for infidel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for infidel
Noun
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Behind the scenes, powerful dissenters like the archconservative Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, head of the Curia’s doctrine watchdog department once known as the Inquisition, maneuvered to sidetrack reformers.—
Mary Jo McConahay,
New York Times,
15 Feb. 2025
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Freed from the need to justify his actions in traditional terms, the president has enacted policies no predecessor would have countenanced while moving to purge any internal dissenters.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Some have held him up as a renegade, choosing freedom over the comforts of domestic life.—
Rick Rojas,
New York Times,
17 Feb. 2025
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To someone, the renegade and pop-culture memes might be worth a few months’ rent.—
Hank Sanders,
New York Times,
24 Jan. 2025
Noun
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An app called Krishna, for example, has already advised killing unbelievers and supporting India's ruling party.—
Scott Shapiro,
WIRED,
8 Jan. 2024
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To have reservations about something that is treated as sacrosanct is to be an unbeliever, or worse, a heretic, and thus someone to be cast out.—
Ian Buruma,
Harper's Magazine,
2 June 2023
Cite this Entry
“Infidel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infidel. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
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