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

The show is set in 15th century Europe at a time of inquisition, a time when heretics are burned at the stake and it is essentially forbidden to look at the stars. —Rafael Motamayor, IndieWire, 15 Mar. 2025

By 1120, the church council in Jerusalem ordered that sodomites, like heretics, be burned at the stake. —S. C. Cornell, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2025

But both creeds share the fate of being treated as heretics by the Sunnis. —Halil Karaveli, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2012

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

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