LoginSignUpHello,Games&QuizzesThesaurusWordoftheDayFeaturesBuyingGuideM-WBooksMyWordsMyWordsViewRecentsAccountLogOutagnosticnounSaveWordag·​nos·​tic|\ag-ˈnä-stik,əg-\Definitionofagnostic (Entry1of2)1:apersonwhoholdstheviewthatanyultimatereality(suchasGod)isunknownandprobablyunknowablebroadly:onewhoisnotcommittedtobelievingineithertheexistenceorthenonexistenceofGodoragod2:apersonwhoisunwillingtocommittoanopinionaboutsomethingpoliticalagnosticsagnosticadjectiveDefinitionofagnostic (Entry2of2)1:of,relatingto,orbeinganagnostic:involvingorcharacterizedbyagnosticism2:noncommittal,undogmatic3a:notpreferringaparticulardeviceorsystem—usuallyusedafteranoun"Childrenareplatformagnostic,"saidAliceCahn,vice-presidentofdevelopmentforCartoonNetwork."Ifyouwanttolookfoolishwithapreschooler,say,'Sorry,youcan'twatchthat.It'snoton.'It'sTiVoed,it'sonline,it'sonvideoondemand."—BusinessWireb:designedtobecompatiblewithdifferentdevices(suchascomputersorsmartphones)oroperatingsystems—usuallyusedafteranouncontentthatisOSagnostic—oftenusedincombinationTheapplicationisplatform-agnostic,soitcanworkonyourtabletorcellphone.HowAgnosticDiffersFromAtheistMoreExampleSentencesLearnMoreAboutagnosticKeepscrollingformoreHowAgnosticDiffersFromAtheistNounManypeopleareinterestedindistinguishingbetweenthewordsagnosticandatheist.Thedifferenceisquitesimple:atheistreferstosomeonewhodoesnotbelieveintheexistenceofagodoranygods,andagnosticreferstosomeonewhodoesn’tknowwhetherthereisagod,orevenifsuchathingisknowable.Thisdistinctioncanbetroublesometoremember,butexaminingtheoriginsofthetwowordscanhelp.Agnosticfirstappearedin1869,(possiblycoinedbytheEnglishbiologistThomasHenryHuxley),andwasformedfromtheGreekagnōstos(meaning"unknown,unknowable").AtheistcametoEnglishfromtheFrenchathéisme.Althoughbothwordsshareaprefix(whichisprobablythesourceofmuchoftheconfusion)themainbodyofeachwordisquitedifferent.Agnosticsharespartofitshistorywithwordssuchasprognosticateandprognosis,wordswhichhavesomethingtodowithknowledgeorknowingsometh