iconoclast

noun

icon·o·clast ī-ˈkä-nə-ˌklast

Synonyms of iconoclast next

: a person who attacks settled beliefs or institutions

: a person who destroys religious images or opposes their veneration

iconoclastic

(ˌ)ī-ˌkä-nə-ˈkla-stik

adjective

iconoclastically

(ˌ)ī-ˌkä-nə-ˈkla-sti-k(ə-)lē

adverb

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For the Meaning of Iconoclast, Break It Down

Iconoclast comes from the Greek word eikonoklastēs, which translates literally as “image destroyer.” While the destruction wrought by today’s iconoclasts is figurative—in modern use, an iconoclast is someone who criticizes or opposes beliefs and practices that are widely accepted—the first iconoclasts directed their ire at religious icons, those representations of sacred individuals used as objects of veneration. The Byzantine Empire’s Iconoclastic Controversy occurred in the 8th and 9th centuries, but the word iconoclast didn’t find its way to English until the 17th century. Figurative use came later still.

Examples of iconoclast in a Sentence

notorious as an iconoclast, that music critic isn't afraid to go after sacred cows

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

His work marked a turning point in the history of music. Innovators – both entrepreneurs and corporate explorers – are iconoclasts, willing to challenge the status quo and rewrite the rules. —

Andrew Binns, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024 In the 1938 classic The Adventures of Robin Hood, Robin Hood is a happy iconoclast, meting out his form of social and political justice with the cheerful irreverence and deft strokes of Errol Flynn, cinema’s premier swashbuckler. —

Scott Tobias, Vulture, 20 Nov. 2024 But the internal battle between traditionalist Republicans, like McCarthy, and far-right iconoclasts, like Gaetz, has been no contest: Gaetz beat Dimmock by 45 points. —

Mike Lillis, The Hill, 6 Nov. 2024 The mother, Janet—played by the wonderful actor Julianne Nicholson—is an acupuncturist and iconoclast who lives in a cabin in the woods with her daughter, Lacy (Zoe Ziegler). —

Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 29 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for iconoclast

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin īconoclastēs "person who destroys religious images," borrowed from Middle Greek eikonoklástēs, from Greek eikono- icono- + -klastēs, derivative, with the agent suffix -tēs, from the base of kláō, klân "to break off, break in pieces" — more at clastic

First Known Use

1641, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler

The first known use of iconoclast was in 1641

See more words from the same year