a·the·ist n.
One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.
ag·nos·tic n.
1Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Editiona One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God.2 One who is doubtful or noncommittal about something.
b One who is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism.
ag·nosti·cal·ly adv.
Word History: An agnostic does not deny the existence of God and heaven but holds that one cannot know for certain whether or not they exist. The term agnostic was fittingly coined by the 19th-century British scientist Thomas H. Huxley, who believed that only material phenomena were objects of exact knowledge. He made up the word from the prefix a-, meaning “without, not,” as in amoral, and the noun Gnostic. Gnostic is related to the Greek word gnsis, “knowledge,” which was used by early Christian writers to mean “higher, esoteric knowledge of spiritual things” hence, Gnostic referred to those with such knowledge. In coining the term agnostic, Huxley was considering as “Gnostics” a group of his fellow intellectuals“ists,” as he called themwho had eagerly embraced various doctrines or theories that explained the world to their satisfaction. Because he was a “man without a rag of a label to cover himself with,” Huxley coined the term agnostic for himself, its first published use being in 1870.
agnostic adj
uncertain of all claims to knowledge [syn: agnostical] [ant: gnostic] n : a person who doubts truth of religion [syn: doubter]Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University
Yep...an "agnostic" disbelieves as well.
Main Entry: dis·be·lieve Pronunciation: -'lEv Function: verb transitive senses : to hold not worthy of belief : not believe intransitive senses : to withhold or reject belief
Compare with agnosticism
One who is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism.