heretic

noun

her·​e·​tic ˈher-ə-ˌtik 

ˈhe-rə-

1

religion : a person who differs in opinion from established religious dogma (see dogma sense 2)

especially : a baptized member of the Roman Catholic Church who refuses to acknowledge or accept a revealed truth

The church regards them as heretics.

2

: one who differs in opinion from an accepted belief or doctrine : nonconformist

Synonyms

• dissenter
• dissentient
• dissident
• heresiarch
• nonconformist

Examples of heretic in a Sentence

The church regards them as heretics.

Galileo was condemned as a heretic for supporting Copernicus's thesis that the earth revolves around the sun and not vice versa.

Recent Examples on the Web

And heretics, even if they’re not burned at the stake, are dehumanized, ostracized and denied any empathy and understanding. —Arianna Huffington, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024

Over the last four years, Trump has intervened in GOP primaries across the country to weed out intra-party heretics in both houses of Congress. —Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 5 Nov. 2024

Some of the spotlighted individuals, like St. Catherine of Siena and English anchoress Julian of Norwich, were celebrated in their day as visionaries, while others, including Kempe and Joan of Arc, were persecuted as heretics. —Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2024

After his heroics in the original, he was branded a heretic because of his unusual resistance to corruption energies. —Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English heretik, borrowed from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French heretic, heretik, borrowed from Late Latin haereticus, hereticus, borrowed from Late Greek hairetikós, from hairetikós, adjective, "departing from dogma, heretical," going back to Greek, "able to choose, due to choice," from hairetós "that may be taken, eligible, chosen," verbal adjective of haireîn "to take, grasp, (middle voice) obtain, choose, prefer" + -ikos -ic entry 1 — more at heresy

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

heretic

noun

her·​e·​tic ˈher-ə-ˌtik 

: a person who believes or teaches something opposed to accepted beliefs