Definition

1. Noun:

   • A person who believes that the existence of God, the divine, or the ultimate nature of reality is unknown and perhaps unknowable: An agnostic holds that human reason cannot provide sufficient rational grounds to justify either the belief that God exists or the belief that God does not exist.
   • A person who is noncommittal or doubtful about a particular subject: In a general sense, an agnostic is someone who is uncertain or withholds judgment on a specific issue.

2. Adjective:

   • Relating to the belief that the existence of God is unknown or unknowable: This describes the philosophical position of agnosticism.
   • Doubtful or noncommittal about something: Used more broadly to describe an uncertain or skeptical attitude.
   • (Computing) Not committed to or restricted by a particular system, technology, or set of beliefs; interoperable: Describes something designed to be independent of specific platforms or frameworks.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • As an agnostic, she felt that questions about a higher power were ultimately unanswerable.
  • He is a political agnostic, refusing to align with any party.

• Adjective:

  • He holds an agnostic view on the existence of an afterlife.
  • The software uses an agnostic data format that works on any operating system.

Advanced Usage

• "To take an agnostic position/approach": To deliberately remain neutral or uncommitted on an issue.

  • The committee took an agnostic approach to the competing proposals, seeking more data.

• "Platform-agnostic" or "Device-agnostic" (Computing): Designed to function across different systems without modification.

  • Our new application is platform-agnostic, so it runs equally well on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Variants and Related Words

• Agnosticism (n): The philosophical doctrine or belief that the existence of God or the supernatural is unknown and unknowable.

  • His agnosticism was rooted in a deep skepticism about metaphysical claims.

• Gnostic (adj/n): (Historically and in philosophy) Relating to knowledge, especially esoteric spiritual knowledge. Often used as the conceptual opposite of "agnostic."

  • The ancient Gnostic texts claimed to offer secret knowledge of the divine.

Synonyms

• Noun: Skeptic, doubter, freethinker, unbeliever (in a non-pejorative sense).
• Adjective: Uncertain, skeptical, doubtful, noncommittal, neutral.

Related Phrases

• "To be agnostic about something": To be deliberately uncertain or to withhold judgment on a specific matter.
  • Many scientists are agnostic about the philosophical implications of their discoveries.

Related Idioms

• "To plead agnosticism": To claim ignorance or a lack of a definitive opinion on a topic, often to avoid taking a side.
  • When asked about the controversial policy, the spokesperson pleaded agnosticism.

Adjective

1. uncertain of all claims to knowledge
2. of or pertaining to an agnostic or agnosticism

Noun

1. a person who claims that they cannot have true knowledge about the existence of God (but does not deny that God might exist)
2. someone who is doubtful or noncommittal about something