---
title: agnostic — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «agnostic» in the school dictionary: A person who believes that we cannot know for sure whether God exists, so they do not say yes or no. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# agnostic

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** person, we, God, I, Working, uncle · **What happens:** believe, not know, exist, not say, not decide, be · **To what, where:** agnostic app, agnostic, good friends, platform agnostic, console, church · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«agnostic» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [agnostic in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/agnostic.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A person who believes that we cannot know for sure whether God exists, so they do not say yes or no.

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:agnostic:m1:1
# text = A person who believes that we cannot know for sure whether God exists, so they do not say yes or no.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nsubj	_	_
3	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
4	believes	believe	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
5	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
6	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
7	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	know	know	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	ccomp	_	_
10	for	for	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	sure	sure	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	ccomp	_	_
12	whether	whether	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
13	God	God	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	14	nsubj	_	_
14	exists	exist	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
16	so	so	ADV	RB	_	20	advmod	_	_
17	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	20	nsubj	_	_
18	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	20	aux	_	_
19	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	20	advmod	_	_
20	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
21	yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	20	obj	_	_
22	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	23	cc	_	_
23	no.	no.	NOUN	NN	Abbr=Yes|Number=Sing	21	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **believe** | present | a person |  |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 2 | **not** **know** | can | we |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 3 | **exist** | present | God |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **not** **say** *speech: assert* | present · do-support | a person |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent yes=Topic |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: adjective — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Not sure or not deciding about something: «I'm agnostic about pineapple on pizza.».

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:agnostic:m2:1
# text = Not sure or not deciding about something: «I'm agnostic about pineapple on pizza.».
1	Not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	2	advmod	_	_
2	sure	sure	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
4	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	deciding	decide	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	conj	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	12	punct	_	_
9	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	'm	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
12	agnostic	agnostic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	parataxis	_	_
13	about	about	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	pineapple	pineapple	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	_
15	on	on	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	pizza	pizza	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **decide** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | about something | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V PP.theme S»: agent=Agent about something=Topic |
| 2 | **is** *in a quote* | present | I |  |  |  |  | about pineapple on pizza; agnostic *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: computers — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Working with any kind of system: «a device-agnostic app» works on any phone or computer.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:agnostic:m3:1
# text = Working with any kind of system: «a device-agnostic app» works on any phone or computer.
1	Working	work	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	15	csubj	_	_
2	with	with	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	4	det	_	_
4	kind	kind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	system	system	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	1	punct	_	_
8	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
10	device	device	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	agnostic	agnostic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	_
13	app	app	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	_
15	works	work	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
16	on	on	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	18	det	_	_
18	phone	phone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obl	_	_
19	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
20	computer	computer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	15	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work** | gerund |  | a agnostic app |  |  |  | with any kind of system | vn cooperate-73.1-3 «NP V PP.co-agent PP.theme»: agent=Agent with kind=Co-Agent |
| 2 | **work** | present | Working |  |  |  |  | on any phone or computer | vn employment-95.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent on phone=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My uncle says he is an agnostic: he doesn't know if God is real.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:agnostic:x1:1
# text = My uncle says he is an agnostic: he doesn't know if God is real.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	uncle	uncle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	agnostic	agnostic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	12	punct	_	_
9	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
10	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	12	advmod	_	_
12	know	know	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
13	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
14	God	God	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	16	nsubj	_	_
15	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
16	real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | My uncle |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** | present | uncle | a agnostic |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **not** **know** | present · do-support | uncle |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 4 | **is** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | God |  |  |  |  | real *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An atheist says there is no God; an agnostic says we can't be sure.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:agnostic:x2:1
# text = An atheist says there is no God; an agnostic says we can't be sure.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	atheist	atheist	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	5	expl	_	_
5	is	be	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
6	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	7	det	_	_
7	God	God	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
9	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	agnostic	agnostic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
11	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
12	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
13	ca	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	16	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	16	advmod	_	_
15	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	cop	_	_
16	sure	sure	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | a atheist |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **be** | present | no God |  |  | there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | a agnostic |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **not** **is** | can | we |  |  |  |  | sure *property* | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our class learned that Christians, atheists and agnostics can still be good friends.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:agnostic:x3:1
# text = Our class learned that Christians, atheists and agnostics can still be good friends.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	learned	learn	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
5	Christians	Christian	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	7	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
7	atheists	atheist	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	nsubj	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	agnostics	agnostic	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	conj	_	_
10	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	_
11	still	still	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
12	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	14	cop	_	_
13	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	friends	friend	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **learn** | past | Our class |  |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** | can | Christians atheists and agnostics | good friends |  |  | still |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I'm agnostic about whether cats or dogs are better.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:agnostic:x4:1
# text = I'm agnostic about whether cats or dogs are better.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	'm	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	agnostic	agnostic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	about	about	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
5	whether	whether	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
6	cats	cat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	dogs	dog	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	conj	_	_
9	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	better	good	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	3	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | I |  |  |  |  | agnostic *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | cats or dogs |  |  |  |  | good *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The game is platform-agnostic, so it runs on any console.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:agnostic:x5:1
# text = The game is platform-agnostic, so it runs on any console.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	platform	platform	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	agnostic	agnostic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	so	so	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	runs	run	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
11	on	on	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	13	det	_	_
13	console	console	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the game | platform agnostic |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **run** | present | game |  |  | any console |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on console=Trajectory |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She grew up agnostic but later went to church.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:agnostic:x6:1
# text = She grew up agnostic but later went to church.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	grew	grow	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	up	up	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
4	agnostic	agnostic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
6	later	late	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	7	advmod	_	_
7	went	go	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
8	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	church	church	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grow up** | past | She | agnostic |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location agnostic=Theme |
| 2 | **go** | past | She *not said here* |  |  | church |  | late *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme to church=Initial\_Location |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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