unbelieving

Unbelieving is an English adjective and present participle formed by adding the negating prefix un- to the verb believe. It describes a state or disposition of not believing a claim, proposition, or system, or of lacking belief in a broader sense. It can modify a person, a statement, or a stance.

In religious contexts, unbelieving often refers to a lack of faith in a deity or in doctrinal claims. It may describe individuals, groups, or attitudes that reject or doubt faith commitments. In some traditions the term carries normative weight, contrasting with believers, and it appears in doctrinal discussions and scriptural translations. When used as a noun phrase, “the unbelieving” can denote people who do not accept a faith.

In secular discourse, unbelieving can describe skepticism toward propositions in science, politics, or everyday life. The related noun unbelief denotes the state of not believing; the adjective unbelieving distinguishes a skeptical stance from the adjective unbelievable, which means not credible or difficult to believe. The term tends to appear in formal, literary, or theological contexts more than in everyday speech.

Etymology: The word is formed from the verb believe with the common negative prefix un-. The noun form unbelief and the adjective unbelieving have long been established in English, with unbelieving functioning as the present participle or adjective.