infidel

English

Etymology

First attested 1460, from Middle French infidèle, from Latin īnfidēlis (“unfaithful”), from in- (“not”) + fidēlis (“faithful”). See fidelity.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪn.fə.dl̩/, /ˈɪn.fəˌdɛl/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Adjective

infidel (comparative more infidel, superlative most infidel)

1. Rejecting a specific religion.
2. Of, characteristic of, or relating to unbelievers or unbelief.
   • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 7, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

     (...) how it is that to his name who yesterday departed for the other world, we prefix so significant and infidel a word, and yet do not thus entitle him, if he but embarks for the remotest Indies of this living earth;(...)

   • 1881, Ernestine Rose, A Defence of Atheism, J.P. Mendum, page 20:

     But not only have the priests tried to make the very term Atheism odious, as if it would destroy all of good and beautiful in nature, but some of the reformers, not having the moral courage to avow their own sentiments, wishing to be popular, fearing lest their reforms would be considered Infidel, (as all reforms assuredly are), shield themselves from the stigma, by joining in the tirade against Atheism, and associate it with everything that is vile, with the crime of slavery, the corrup­tions of the Church, and all the vices imaginable.

Noun

infidel (plural infidels)

1. (now usually derogatory) One who does not believe in a certain religion.
   • 1779, Vicesimus Knox, On the Prevalence of Religious Scepticism:

     The infidel writer is a greater enemy to society.

   • 2005, George W. Braswell, Islam and America: Answers to the 31 Most-asked Questions, page 33:

     Some Muslims are taught that non-Muslims are infidels and are to be shunned.

2. (now usually derogatory) One who does not believe in a certain principle.
3. (now usually derogatory) One with no religious beliefs.

Synonyms

• unbeliever
• nonbeliever, non-believer
• disbeliever
• (Islam): kafir
• (one with no religious beliefs): atheist

Related terms

• fidelity

Translations

non-believer

• Albanian: qafir m
• Arabic: كَافِر (kāfir), كَافِرَة f (kāfira)
• Azerbaijani: kafir (az), gavur (az)
• Bashkir: кафыр (kafır) (in Islam)
• Bengali: কাফির (kaphir)
• Bulgarian: неверник (bg) m (nevernik)
• Catalan: infidel (ca) m or f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 不信神的 (bù xìnshén de)

• Czech: nevěřící m
• Danish: vantro c
• Dutch: ongelovige (nl) m or f
• Esperanto: malkredulo
• Faroese: vantrúgvandi, vantrúgvin
• Finnish: vääräuskoinen (fi), pakana (fi), uskoton (fi)
• French: infidèle (fr) m or f, incroyant (fr) m, mécréant (fr) m
• German: Ungläubiger (de) m, Ungläubige (de) f
• Greek: άπιστος (el) (ápistos)

  Ancient: ἄπιστος (ápistos)

• Hebrew: כּוֹפֵר (he) m (kofér), אֶפִּיקוֹרֶס (he) m (epikóres), אֶפִּיקוֹרוֹס (he) m (epikóros)
• Hindi: नास्तिक (hi) m (nāstik), काफ़िर m (kāfir)
• Indonesian: kafir (id), keparat (id)
• Irish: neamhchreidmheach m, ainchreidmheach m, díchreidmheach m
• Italian: infedele (it) m or f
• Japanese: 不信者 (ふしんじゃ, fushinja)
• Kazakh: кәпір (käpır)
• Korean: 불신자 (bulsinja)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: گاور (gawr), کافر (kafr)

  Northern Kurdish: gawir (ku), kafir (ku)

• Kyrgyz: каапыр (ky) (kaapır)
• Latin: īnfidēlis m or f
• Malay: kafir
• Manx: anchredjaltagh m, anchreestee m (non-Christian)
• Maori: kaiwhakaponokore
• Ottoman Turkish: كاور (gâvur)
• Pashto: کافر (ps) (kāfér)
• Persian: کافر (fa) (kâfar)
• Polish: niewierny (pl) m
• Portuguese: infiel (pt) m or f
• Romanian: necredincios (ro) m
• Russian: неве́рный (ru) m (nevérnyj), неве́рующий (ru) m (nevérujuščij), инове́рец (ru) m (inovérec)
• Sanskrit: धन्य (sa) m (dhanya), पाषण्ड (sa) m (pāṣaṇḍa)
• Scottish Gaelic: neo-chreidmheach m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: нѐве̄рнӣк m, нѐвје̄рнӣк m

  Roman: nèvērnīk (sh) m, nèvjērnīk (sh) m

• Spanish: infiel m or f, descreído (es) m, impío (es) m, descreída (es) f, impía (es) f
• Swedish: otrogen (sv)
• Tajik: кофир (kofir)
• Tatar: көфер (köfer)
• Turkish: kâfir (tr)
• Turkmen: kapyr
• Urdu: کافر m (kāfir)
• Uyghur: كاپىر (kapir)
• Uzbek: kofir (uz)
• Yiddish: אַפּיקורס m (apikoyres)

Anagrams

• infield, infiled

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin īnfidēlis (“unfaithful”).

Adjective

infidel m or f (masculine and feminine plural infidels)

1. unfaithful

   Antonym: fidel

Derived terms

• infidelment

Related terms

• infidelitat

Noun

infidel m or f by sense (plural infidels)

1. infidel

Further reading

• “infidel” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “infidel”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “infidel” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “infidel” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French infidèle, from Latin infidelis. Equivalent to in- +‎ fidel.

Adjective

infidel m or n (feminine singular infidelă, masculine plural infideli, feminine and neuter plural infidele)

1. unfaithful

Declension

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	infidel		infidelă		infideli	infidele
	definite	infidelul		infidela		infidelii	infidelele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	infidel		infidele		infideli	infidele
	definite	infidelului		infidelei		infidelilor	infidelelor