Atheism

How to spell atheism

7 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce atheism

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does atheism mean?

1. nounThe belief or position that no god or gods exist.

Atheism in a sentence

• The philosophy course devoted a full week to atheism and its leading thinkers.

• Her atheism shaped how she viewed questions of morality and meaning.

Where does atheism come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek atheos, which literally meant 'without god' or 'godless', formed from the prefix a- meaning 'without' and theos meaning 'god'. The Greeks sometimes used atheos as an insult for people who denied the established gods, so its early flavour was abusive rather than philosophical. The abstract noun passed into French as atheisme and arrived in English in the late 1500s, picking up the productive ending -ism that marks systems of belief and doctrine. The same theos root sits inside familiar relatives such as 'theology', 'monotheism' and 'pantheon', which is a useful memory hook. The spelling trap lives in the middle: the 'the' is followed by 'ism' to give -theism, and writers must remember the 'e' that the original theos contributes.

How the word is built

• a- (without)
• the- (from Greek theos: god)
• -ism (belief or doctrine)