2. Belonging to, characteristic of, or constituting another and very different place, society, or person; strange. See Synonyms at foreign. 3. Dissimilar, inconsistent, or opposed, as in nature: emotions alien to her temperament.
n, pl -thens or -then. 1. (Alternative Belief Systems) a person who does not acknowledge the God of Christianity, Judaism, or Islam; pagan. 2. an uncivilized or barbaric person. 3. (Alternative Belief Systems) the heathen (functioning as plural) heathens collectively.
Definition of heathen. 1  1 : of or relating to people or nations that do not acknowledge the God of the Bible : of or relating to heathens (see 2heathen 1), their religions, or their customs : pagan heathen rituals. 2  2 : strange, uncivilized.