heathen
heathen — noun
- heathensingular
- heathensplural
1. an old-fashioned and often offensive term for someone who follows neither Christ
an old-fashioned and often offensive term for someone who follows neither Christianity nor Judaism nor Islam — historically used by missionaries about people they hoped to convert.
Victorian missionaries set sail for distant islands to convert what they called heathens.
historical missionary register; plural noun
Ayesha argued that calling anyone a heathen says more about the speaker than the believer.
In the old pamphlet, Pacific islanders were described as heathens in need of saving.
Most modern writers avoid heathen because the word carries a strong sense of religious judgement.
- pagan
broadly similar but less judgemental; preferred in modern academic writing
- infidel
stronger and more aggressive; usually religious-warfare context
- unbeliever
more neutral; often used by religious speakers about outsiders
用法筆記
Now widely felt to be offensive. Distinguish from sense 3 (uncivilised behaviour) — sense 1 is specifically about religion and almost always appears in historical or quoted contexts.
常見錯誤
2. the heathen — taken as a group, every person outside the speaker's recognised re
the heathen — taken as a group, every person outside the speaker's recognised religion; an archaic collective use, mostly found in 19th-century missionary writing or biblical translations.
The Victorian society raised funds to send Bibles to the heathen across the empire.
the + heathen used as a plural group
Old church records spoke of bringing light to the heathen in faraway lands.
Pastor João warned his congregation against assuming the heathen needed pity rather than respect.
In the Psalms, the heathen are often pictured as rivals to the people of Israel.
- the unfaithful
rarer; used in older religious prose
- the gentiles
specifically non-Jewish people in biblical contexts
- the faithful
members of the speaker's religious community
文法句型
the heathen + verb
用法筆記
Only appears with the definite article and takes a plural verb. Distinguish from sense 1: sense 2 names the whole group at once, while sense 1 names one individual.
常見錯誤
3. a playful or scolding word for someone who behaves rudely or without basic manne
a playful or scolding word for someone who behaves rudely or without basic manners — often said with a smile to friends or family, not really meant to insult.
Daichi called his roommates heathens for eating pizza straight from the box on the carpet.
playful insult; informal register
You absolute heathen — who puts ketchup on a steak?
vocative; mock outrage
Nellie joked her children were little heathens until they finally learned to use a fork.
Hari and his friends crashed into the kitchen like a pack of hungry heathens.
- savage
also playful in this register; slightly stronger
- barbarian
stronger; suggests genuinely rough behaviour
- philistine
specifically about lacking culture or taste
- gentleman
well-mannered, polite person
用法筆記
Almost always humorous or affectionate; rarely a real insult. Distinguish from sense 1 — no religion is involved here. Often paired with intensifiers ('absolute heathen', 'little heathens').
常見錯誤
heathen — adjective
- heathenpositive
- more heathencomparative
- most heathensuperlative
1. describing people, customs, or beliefs that lie outside Christianity, Judaism, a
describing people, customs, or beliefs that lie outside Christianity, Judaism, and Islam — typically used in older religious or historical writing, and now considered judgemental.
The explorer's journal described heathen rituals around fires deep in the forest.
attributive use; historical voice
Many heathen festivals were later absorbed into the Christian calendar across northern Europe.
plural attributive; historical context
Otis researched the heathen gods worshipped in ancient Iceland before the missionaries arrived.
Old maps marked entire regions as heathen lands waiting for Christian missions.
文法句型
heathen + noun
用法筆記
Almost always attributive (before a noun), never after 'be'. Avoid in everyday modern writing — prefer 'non-Christian', 'pre-Christian', or 'pagan' depending on context.