English Reference

Word

agnostic

Phoneticsag·nos·tic

US/æɡˈnɑstɪk/

UK/æɡnˈɒstɪk/

Definitions

01religious belief

C1 · Religion

n. someone who believes that it is impossible to know whether God exists or not.

n. a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality, such as God, is unknown and probably unknowable.

“He described himself as an agnostic because he felt there wasn't enough evidence to prove or disprove God.”

“While his parents were devoutly religious, he remained a lifelong agnostic, maintaining that human reason is insufficient to grasp the nature of the divine.”

Formal

Synonyms

skepticdoubter

Antonyms

02technical compatibility

C1 · Computing

adj. software or hardware that can work with many different types of systems or brands.

adj. designed to be compatible with various different operating systems, hardware platforms, or file formats.

“The new app is platform-agnostic, so it works perfectly on both Android and iPhones.”

“The developers prioritised an agnostic architecture to ensure the software could be deployed across diverse cloud environments without significant reconfiguration.”

Technical

Usage

Usually follows the noun it modifies, such as 'platform-agnostic' or 'device-agnostic'.

Antonyms

proprietaryplatform-specific

03having no opinion

C2

adj. not having a strong opinion or not choosing a side in a specific argument.

adj. taking no firm position on a particular issue; noncommittal or indifferent to specific details.

“I am agnostic about which color we paint the office as long as it looks professional.”

“The CEO remained agnostic regarding the choice of vendor, insisting only that the final selection meet the company's rigorous security standards.”

Informal

Synonyms

neutralnoncommittalindifferent

Real-World Examples

“Graves said that he was agnostic about aliens.”
The New Yorker · 25 May 2021

Etymology

Coined by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1870. Either from Ancient Greek ἄγνωστος (ágnōstos, “ignorant, not knowing”), or from a- + Gnostic, deriving (either way) from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “not”) + γιγνώσκω (gignṓskō, “I know”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Related words

Domains

ComputingReligion

This entry

Level
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Occasional
Updated

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