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# agnostic

noun (an agnostic, agnostics); adjective (agnostic)

«agnostic» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A person who believes that we cannot know for sure whether God exists, so they do not say yes or no. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/agnostic/#m1)
2. (adjective) Not sure or not deciding about something: «I'm agnostic about pineapple on pizza.» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/agnostic/#m2)
3. (computers) Working with any kind of system: «a device-agnostic app» works on any phone or computer. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/agnostic/#m3)

### In the lessons

In religion and ethics lessons agnostic is set beside believer (theist) and atheist (someone who believes there is no God); pupils learn to respect all three. In everyday and computer talk it means «not choosing a side». Phrases: «an agnostic», «I'm agnostic about…», «platform-agnostic».

### Examples

- My uncle says he is an agnostic: he doesn't know if God is real. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/agnostic/#x1)
- An atheist says there is no God; an agnostic says we can't be sure. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/agnostic/#x2)
- Our class learned that Christians, atheists and agnostics can still be good friends. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/agnostic/#x3)
- I'm agnostic about whether cats or dogs are better. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/agnostic/#x4)
- The game is platform-agnostic, so it runs on any console. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/agnostic/#x5)
- She grew up agnostic but later went to church. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/agnostic/#x6)

### Note

Use «an» because it starts with a vowel sound: «an agnostic». Noun for the belief: agnosticism. Trap: agnostic is not the same as atheist. From Greek «a-» (not) + «gnosis» (knowledge).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «agnostic» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/agnostic/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«agnostic» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/agnostic.html) on Mova free.