He was a deist, of course, but his time was before the discovery of natural selection so he can be readily forgiven for that.
Source: tatoeba (1555371)
Deist
/ˈdeɪ.ɪst/
Synonyms for "deist" (30 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (6)
Strong matches (9)
Adjective(1 words)
Noun(1 words)
Related words (15)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: adherent, allotheist, anthropolater, anthropotheist, autotheist.
- Sentence evidence is available for deist, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from derived_reverse, moby, wordnet, opengloss, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "deist".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "deist"
Keep "deist" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "deist" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "deist", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "deist" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
9 entriesbelievernonreligious personphilosopherphilosophical positionphilosophical stancereligious beliefscholarly approachtheistthinker
More specific
7 entriesEnlightenment deistdeist rhetoricfreethinkerhistorical deistnatural theologynatural theology emphasisnoninterventionist theism
Collocations
10 entriesEnlightenment deismdeist authordeist beliefdeist beliefsdeist cosmologydeist philosophydeist rhetoricdeist thinkerdeist worldviewdeistic philosophy
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
4 entriesSample sentences
3 total sentences available.
She called herself a deist.
Source: tatoeba (3149007)
It was reason that led most of the Enlightenment thinkers to repudiate a belief in an anthropomorphic God who took an interest in human affairs.⁶ The application of reason revealed that reports of miracles were dubious, that the authors of holy books were all too human, that natural events unfolded with no regard to human welfare, and that different cultures believed in mutually incompatible deities, none of them less likely than the others to be products of the imagination. (As Montesquieu wrote, “If triangles had a god they would give him three sides.”) For all that, not all of the Enlightenment thinkers were atheists. Some were deists (as opposed to theists): they thought that God set the universe in motion and then stepped back, allowing it to unfold according to the laws of nature. Others were pantheists, who used “God” as a synonym for the laws of nature. But few appealed to the law-giving, miracle-conjuring, son-begetting God of scripture. […] Organisms are replete with improbable configurations of flesh like eyes, ears, hearts, and stomachs which cry out for an explanation. Before Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace provided one in 1859, it was reasonable to think they were the handiwork of a divine designer—one of the reasons, I suspect, that so many Enlightenment thinkers were deists rather than outright atheists. Darwin and Wallace made the designer unnecessary. […] before the concepts of information and computation were elucidated, it was reasonable for someone to be a mind-body dualist and attribute mental life to an immaterial soul (just as before the concept of evolution was elucidated, it was reasonable to be a creationist and attribute design in nature to a cosmic designer). That’s another reason, I suspect, that so many Enlightenment thinkers were deists.
Source: wiktionary
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "deist"?
Closest matches include adherent, allotheist, anthropolater, anthropotheist, autotheist.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "deist"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.