heathendom

The missionary traveled to a distant land to preach to the people of heathendom.

Definition

Noun:
- The state or condition of being heathen: "heathendom" refers to the condition of being a heathen, i.e., a person who does not belong to a widely held major religion (especially Christianity, Judaism, or Islam) and is often considered uncivilized or irreligious.
- The heathen world collectively: "heathendom" also denotes all heathen people as a group, or the regions where such people live.

Usage Examples

(The missionaries went to areas where people were considered heathen.)
(The collective world of non-Christians was depicted as dangerous to Christian society.)

Advanced Usage

"the darkness of heathendom": a figurative phrase meaning the perceived spiritual or moral ignorance of non-Christian peoples.
- The explorer wrote of the darkness of heathendom, contrasting it with the light of his own faith. (He described the spiritual state of non-Christians as lacking enlightenment.)

Variants and Related Words

Heathen (n/adj): a person who does not belong to a widely held religion; also, an adjective describing such a person or their practices.
- The ancient tribes were considered heathen by the colonizers. (The tribes were viewed as irreligious.)
Heathenry (n): an alternative term for heathendom, often used in historical or religious contexts.
- The study of heathenry includes the beliefs of pre-Christian Europeans. (The study of non-Christian religions.)

Synonyms

Paganism: a term often used synonymously with heathendom, referring to polytheistic or non-Abrahamic religions.
Gentile: in biblical contexts, a non-Jewish person; sometimes used similarly to heathen.

Related Idioms

No idiom directly uses "heathendom"; however, the adjective "heathen" appears in the idiom "heathen practice": a custom considered uncivilized or irreligious.
- They condemned the ritual as a heathen practice. (They disapproved of the custom as irreligious.)

Phrasal Verbs