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
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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
What better way to dismiss or delegitimize the heretics than to smear them as covert members of the opposition?
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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
Few within his party want to get crosswise with Trump, who has a history of humiliating heretics.
—Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 31 May 2024
Such behavior resulted in Pope Innocent III’s papal push to exterminate these heretics—leading to a slaughter of between a quarter and a million Cathars in the 13th century during the Albigensian crusade.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for heretic 
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
Few within his party want to get crosswise with Trump, who has a history of humiliating heretics.
—Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 31 May 2024
Such behavior resulted in Pope Innocent III’s papal push to exterminate these heretics—leading to a slaughter of between a quarter and a million Cathars in the 13th century during the Albigensian crusade.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for heretic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heretic
Noun
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While such incidents have likely tarnished the image of public dissenters in recent years, the effectiveness of legal protest is not to be dismissed.Ryan Smith, Newsweek, 16 Dec. 2024
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Feedback concerning the project has been fiery: Think 27-hour-long county board meetings, dissenters showing up in Civil War garb and even a letter of opposition from No. 1 history daddy Ken Burns.Mimi Montgomery, Axios, 12 Dec. 2024
Noun
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He is paired with Barbara Havers (Sofia Barclay), a sergeant with a maverick attitude and a working-class background.Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Dec. 2024
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He is paired with Barbara Havers (Barclay), a sergeant with a maverick attitude and a working-class background.Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 16 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Maybe that’s why this adaptation of the first-person-shooter franchise feels so by-the-numbers, as a renegade robot sparks a revolution by attaining a series of unlikely victories in a futuristic gladiatorial arena.Scott Meslow, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2024
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Where his predecessors made their names aligning with Colombian elites, Petro acted as a renegade and started his own political party.Justin Worland/Bogotá, TIME, 29 Oct. 2024
Noun
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His work marked a turning point in the history of music. Innovators – both entrepreneurs and corporate explorers – are iconoclasts, willing to challenge the status quo and rewrite the rules.Andrew Binns, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024
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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
Thesaurus Entries Near heretic
Cite this Entry
“Heretic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heretic. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
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