unbelief

English

Etymology

From Middle English unbilefe, unbileve, equivalent to un- +‎ belief.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ʌnbɪˈliːf/

• Audio (Mid-Atlantic US):

  (file)

Noun

unbelief (usually uncountable, plural unbeliefs)

1. An absence (or rejection) of belief, especially religious belief
   • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Mark vj:[5–6], folio lj, recto:

     And he coulde there ſhewe no myracles butt leyd his hondꝭ apon a feawe ſicke foolke ãd healed thẽ. And he merveyled at their vnbelefe.

   • 1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Vintage, published 1993, page 35:

     On hands and knees he looked at the empty siding and up at the sunfilled sky with unbelief and despair.

   • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 781:

     Soon Spinoza was regarded as the standard-bearer for unbelief, even though pervading his carefully-worded writings there is a clear notion of a divine spirit inhabiting the world, and a profound sense of wonder and reverence for mystery.

Translations

lack of belief

Bulgarian: неве́рие (bg) n (nevérie) Chinese: Mandarin: 不信仰 (zh) (bù xìnyǎng), 不信 (zh) (bùxìn) Dutch: ongeloof (nl) n Esperanto: malkredeco Ewe: nuteƒemawɔmawɔ French: incrédulité (fr) f German: Unglaube (de) m Greek: Ancient: ἀπιστία f (apistía) Irish: ainchreideamh m, éigreideamh m, neamhchreideamh m Japanese: 不信心 (ja) (ふしんじん, fushinjin) Latin: incredulitas f Ottoman Turkish: كفر (küfr) Russian: неве́рие (ru) n (nevérije)

See also

• disbelief (noun)
• doubt