heretic

her·e·tic

noun \ˈher-ə-ˌtik, ˈhe-rə-\

Definition of HERETIC

1

: a dissenter from established religious dogma; especially : a baptized member of the Roman Catholic Church who disavows a revealed truth

2

: one who dissents from an accepted belief or doctrine : nonconformist

Examples of HERETIC

1. The church regards them as heretics.
2. <Galileo was condemned as a heretic for supporting Copernicus's thesis that the earth revolves around the sun and not vice versa.>

First Known Use of HERETIC

14th century

Related to HERETIC

Synonyms: dissenter, dissentient, dissident, heresiarch, nonconformist

Antonyms: conformer, conformist

Related Words: apostate, defector, renegade; schismatic, sectarian, separationist, separatist; disbeliever, infidel, misbeliever, unbeliever; bohemian, individualist

Near Antonyms: believer

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Other Religion (Eastern and Other) Terms

Zen, antinomian, avatar, gnosticism, illuminati, ineffable, karma, koan, mantra

Rhymes with HERETIC

bailiwick, biopic, Bolshevik, bone to pick, call in sick, candlestick, candlewick, cattle tick, cherry-pick, corner kick, Dominic, do the trick, double-quick, EBCDIC, fiddlestick, fingerpick, flutter kick, hemistich, lunatic, Menshevik, meterstick, needlestick, onside kick, overtrick, point-and-click, politic, politick, polyptych, rhythm stick, scissors kick, shooting stick, singlestick, swagger stick, swizzle stick, taperstick, turn the trick, undertrick, walking stick, Watson-Crick