godless
- 01 C1 Advanced
not believing in any god or not following any religion.
lacking a belief in a deity or not acknowledging any god; secular or atheistic in nature.
Simple“The philosopher lived a godless life, focusing only on science and logic.”
In context“The regime attempted to establish a godless society by systematically dismantling religious institutions and promoting state-sponsored secularism.”
UsageOften used in a critical way by religious speakers to describe secular environments.
- 02 C1 Advanced
very bad, cruel, or evil.
morally reprehensible or wicked; used as a strong pejorative to describe behavior seen as violating moral laws.
Simple“It was a godless act of violence that shocked the entire community.”
In context“The editorial condemned the godless greed of the corporations that exploited the town's natural resources without regard for the residents.”
UsageIn informal contexts, it functions as an intensifier for negative behavior.
From god + -less. Compare Saterland Frisian godloos (“godless”), West Frisian goddeleas (“godless; wicked”), Dutch goddeloos (“godless; wicked”), German Low German gottlos (“godless”), German gottlos (“godless”), Danish gudløse (“godless”), Swedish gudlös (“godless; ungodly”), Icelandic guðlaus (“godless”), Gothic 𐌲𐌿𐌳𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌿𐍃 (gudalaus, “godless”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.