What does "godless" mean?

1. (without religion) not believing in any god or not following any religion. 2. (wicked or evil) very bad, cruel, or evil.

godless — meaning, definition & examples

Word

01without religion

C1 · Advanced Religion Formal

adj. not believing in any god or not following any religion.

adj. lacking a belief in a deity or not acknowledging any god; secular or atheistic in nature.

“The philosopher lived a godless life, focusing only on science and logic.”

“The regime attempted to establish a godless society by systematically dismantling religious institutions and promoting state-sponsored secularism.”

Synonyms

atheisticsecularirreligious

Antonyms

godly religious devout

02wicked or evil

C1 · Advanced Literary · Informal

adj. very bad, cruel, or evil.

adj. morally reprehensible or wicked; used as a strong pejorative to describe behavior seen as violating moral laws.

“It was a godless act of violence that shocked the entire community.”

“The editorial condemned the godless greed of the corporations that exploited the town's natural resources without regard for the residents.”

Synonyms

wicked evil depraved

Antonyms

virtuous moral

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.

NOUN

ADJECTIVE

godless(C1)