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 Crypto may paint itself as an industry of lone wolves and iconoclasts, but its promise of riches (and sure, disruptive technology) has attracted some of the world’s biggest capital allocators, from sovereign wealth funds to endowments. —

Leo Schwartz, Fortune, 12 Sep. 2024 Among Republicans, former President Trump has invariably been an iconoclast on healthcare coverage. —

Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes, 4 Sep. 2024 Only a tiny movement of iconoclasts has been willing to face up to this. —

Marina Bolotnikova, Vox, 7 Aug. 2024 His go-for-broke head-first slides and habit of sprinting to first base on a walk marked him as among the game’s most irrepressible showmen and iconoclasts. —

Brandon Harris, The New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for iconoclast

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'iconoclast.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

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