as in kook
a person who forms his or her own opinions about important subjects (such as religion and politics) instead of accepting what other people say
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Recent Examples of freethinker
As a freethinker who had run afoul of both Judaism and Christianity, Spinoza knew that bigotry and fanaticism weren’t just imposed on the people; they were also imposed by the people.
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Adam Kirsch, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
In the ninth century, the irreverent freethinker Ibn al-Rawandi used the fertile intellectual climate of the Abbasid caliphate to question prophecy and holy books.
—Jacob McHangama, Foreign Affairs, 9 Feb. 2022
But get this: the freethinkers who dreamed up this potential flood tide work not out of Honda's Japanese R&D center and studio but its American think tank and design enclave in Southern California.
—Larry Griffin, Car and Driver, 15 June 2023
That's the sign of a real freethinker.
—Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine, 14 Feb. 2013
See all Example Sentences for freethinker 
Adam Kirsch, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
In the ninth century, the irreverent freethinker Ibn al-Rawandi used the fertile intellectual climate of the Abbasid caliphate to question prophecy and holy books.
—Jacob McHangama, Foreign Affairs, 9 Feb. 2022
But get this: the freethinkers who dreamed up this potential flood tide work not out of Honda's Japanese R&D center and studio but its American think tank and design enclave in Southern California.
—Larry Griffin, Car and Driver, 15 June 2023
That's the sign of a real freethinker.
—Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine, 14 Feb. 2013
See all Example Sentences for freethinker
Recent Examples of Synonyms for freethinker
Noun
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For the pogues and kooks who've already torn through the first half of the new season of Outer Banks, season 4 part 2 is on its way.Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 1 Nov. 2024
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Although there’s truly nothing as important as spending time in the water, there are some things that will make the process of going from a complete kook to a proficient beginner less of a chore.Krista Simmons, Sunset Magazine, 12 Aug. 2024
Noun
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Many of the ensemble characters are outlandish weirdos with several minutes of spotlight spent imparting a strange lesson upon Alice.Thomas Goodwin Smith, Baltimore Sun, 16 Nov. 2024
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For any other weirdos like me, Netflix has served as a great resource for this compulsion over the years, and the streamer’s current horror line up is no exception.Travis Bean, Forbes, 12 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Those may sound like the Luddite ravings of a crackpot who breached security at an IEEE conference.IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 20 Oct. 2014
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Three directors seem like a lot for one film that isn’t an omnibus, especially with an ensemble that includes, as the crackpot world leaders, Alicia Vikander, Charles Dance, Roy Dupuis, Denis Ménochet, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rolando Ravello, and Takehiro Hira.Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 16 Oct. 2024
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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That someone was Gary Paxton, one of the true eccentrics in the early fly-by-night Hollywood rock ‘n’ roll industry.Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 2 Nov. 2024
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Leslie Cochran and 'Crazy Carl' have not been forgotten Two of Austin's most beloved eccentrics from the recent past received votes.Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 12 Aug. 2024
Noun
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Popular culture’s usual parade of toothless codgers and crones increasingly seemed obsolete.Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024
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Otto is also suicidal — something A Man Called Otto never sufficiently dramatizes, cheapening the codger’s despair as the film prepares for the feel-good ending to come.Tim Grierson, Vulture, 2 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Radical individualists come to environmentalism from a different place than other people who support the cause.Keren Landman, Vox, 10 Dec. 2024
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This season, the Yankees have embraced right-hander Marcus Stroman and left fielder Alex Verdugo, two players who, like Chisholm, occasionally come off as individualists.Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic, 24 July 2024
Noun
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But the state also has a bit of a maverick quality of electing Republicans to the governorship, and Republicans there saw some of the party’s largest improvements in November.Jared Gans, The Hill, 26 Nov. 2024
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Fred Harris was a maverick Democratic senator from Oklahoma who ran for president from the left.David Leonhardt, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Freethinker.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/freethinker. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.
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