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
Some of the spotlighted individuals, like St. Catherine of Siena and English anchoress Julian of Norwich, were celebrated in their day as visionaries, while others, including Kempe and Joan of Arc, were persecuted as heretics.
—
Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2024
After his heroics in the original, he was branded a heretic because of his unusual resistance to corruption energies.
—Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2024
What better way to dismiss or delegitimize the heretics than to smear them as covert members of the opposition?
—Pamela Paul, The Mercury News, 29 June 2024
The stake, with the hooded heretic, the black man or the witch attached to it, is the burning tree and body of the infernal world.
—John Ganz, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for heretic 
Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2024
After his heroics in the original, he was branded a heretic because of his unusual resistance to corruption energies.
—Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2024
What better way to dismiss or delegitimize the heretics than to smear them as covert members of the opposition?
—Pamela Paul, The Mercury News, 29 June 2024
The stake, with the hooded heretic, the black man or the witch attached to it, is the burning tree and body of the infernal world.
—John Ganz, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for heretic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heretic
Noun
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Balch was the sole dissenter, instead favoring a tighter belt on the city’s funds.—
Kyle Martin,
The Mercury News,
5 Nov. 2024
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The dissenters—who were ordered to leave Hanover within three days—became known as the Göttingen Seven, and their act of defiance was later enshrined in German history as a banner moment in the nation’s path to democracy.—
Jennifer Wilson,
The New Yorker,
4 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Trump backing TikTok is something of a maverick position in Washington.—
Bobby Allyn,
NPR,
10 Jan. 2025
-
The odds were stacked against Britain until a group of renegade, maverick soldiers (the SAS Rogue Heroes) decided to fight against a more powerful enemy in a new way.—
Matt Brennan,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The origin story of renegade warrior Furiosa, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, includes 1,400 shots, 1,347 of which are VFX.—
Simon Thompson,
The Hollywood Reporter,
13 Jan. 2025
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But, in fairness, the George Miller action film, which follows the origin story of the fearless renegade (originally played by a shorn Charlize Theron, and this time by the great Anya Taylor-Joy), had huge shoes to fill.—
Photo: Courtesy of MGM.,
refinery29.com,
23 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The late 13th century paintings were whitewashed following a mid-15th-century fire at the cathedral and subsequently boxed behind woodwork by 1786, which protected them from iconoclasts and vandalization during the French Revolution.—
Francesca Aton for ArtNews,
Robb Report,
4 Jan. 2025
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And when iconoclasts do emerge, in the literal form of Rhodes scholars demanding that a statue of the man whose munificence and foresight funded their ticket into the global elite be taken down?—
airmail.news,
airmail.news,
1 June 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near heretic
Cite this Entry
“Heretic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heretic. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
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