1
as in dissenter
a person who believes, teaches, or advocates something opposed to accepted beliefs
Galileo was condemned as a heretic for supporting Copernicus's thesis that the earth revolves around the sun and not vice versa
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in maverick
a person who does not conform to generally accepted standards or customs
he's the ultimate heretic: a Yankees fan living deep in the heart of the Red Sox Nation
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Recent Examples of heretic
The Minervois is a sunny land of black truffles, red marble, oak and juniper forests and castles constructed by Cathars (pescatarian Christians who disdained the symbol of the cross, were branded as heretics and subsequently slaughtered wholesale by Papal decree in the 13th century).
—
Tom Mullen, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025
But a traditional creamy trifle will feature layers of bananas, a vanilla pudding or custard, Nilla wafers (daring heretics might use sponge cake) and then whipped cream or even a meringue.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2024
In doing so, Rabelais—who was labeled a heretic and saw his books banned—fights false authority with an extravagantly crude, delightfully uncategorizable reading list of his own.
—Brendan Fitzgerald, Longreads, 27 Dec. 2024
The point of dogma is to define and defend the borders of acceptable opinion, and brand anyone who goes outside them as quite simply a heretic.
—Arianna Huffington, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for heretic
Tom Mullen, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025
But a traditional creamy trifle will feature layers of bananas, a vanilla pudding or custard, Nilla wafers (daring heretics might use sponge cake) and then whipped cream or even a meringue.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2024
In doing so, Rabelais—who was labeled a heretic and saw his books banned—fights false authority with an extravagantly crude, delightfully uncategorizable reading list of his own.
—Brendan Fitzgerald, Longreads, 27 Dec. 2024
The point of dogma is to define and defend the borders of acceptable opinion, and brand anyone who goes outside them as quite simply a heretic.
—Arianna Huffington, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for heretic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heretic
Noun
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The Court divided 5-4 in the case, with the dissenters including Justices Roberts, Thomas, and Alito.—
The Editors,
National Review,
17 Mar. 2025
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The lone pair of dissenters in the 5-2 vote were Aguilar and Azevedo.—
Chase Hunter,
The Mercury News,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Further reading: Trump wants to end this GOP maverick’s political career.—
Emily Brooks,
The Hill,
13 Mar. 2025
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Since the Second World War, the United States has exercised de-facto military control over Greenland, thanks to the maverick diplomat Henrik Kauffmann, who, as Denmark’s envoy to Washington in 1941, granted the U.S. control over its security.—
Louise Bokkenheuser,
The New Yorker,
11 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Sports Illustrated even called for UM to disband what was seen then as a renegade football program led by a coach playing by his own rules.—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
5 Mar. 2025
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Some have held him up as a renegade, choosing freedom over the comforts of domestic life.—
Rick Rojas,
New York Times,
17 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Sir Raymond Douglas Davies CBE was a remarkable iconoclast.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Mar. 2025
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Their prolific, chameleonic hit rate will invite inevitable comparisons to iconoclasts like Sophie, Aphex Twin, and Ryuichi Sakamoto, but — like the greats before them — gyrofield may soon be a genre unto themselves.—
Sam Davies,
Rolling Stone,
19 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heretic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heretic. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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