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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of heretic
Farinata, the proud heretic; Ulysses, the defiant king; Ugolino, the father turned cannibal who ate his own sons?
—
Eric Bulson, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2026
Added to that, in the eyes of Roman Catholic Europe—and many of her own subjects—the new Queen was a heretic.
—Literary Hub, 4 Nov. 2025
Giordano Bruno, a like-minded heretic, already had been just a few years earlier.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2025
This approach demands that those who were once secular priests—the leaders of the philanthropic sector—abandon their cassocks and accept the mantle of the heretic.
—Mark Malloch-Brown, Foreign Affairs, 15 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for heretic
Eric Bulson, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2026
Added to that, in the eyes of Roman Catholic Europe—and many of her own subjects—the new Queen was a heretic.
—Literary Hub, 4 Nov. 2025
Giordano Bruno, a like-minded heretic, already had been just a few years earlier.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2025
This approach demands that those who were once secular priests—the leaders of the philanthropic sector—abandon their cassocks and accept the mantle of the heretic.
—Mark Malloch-Brown, Foreign Affairs, 15 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for heretic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heretic
Noun
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House Bill 1335 passed on a near-party-line 41-22 vote, with nearly all of the chamber’s Democrats in support against their Republican colleagues and a lone Democratic dissenter.—
The Denver Post,
Denver Post,
2 May 2026
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That ubiquity created ample opportunity for a poststructural dissenter to come along.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Ted Turner, the maverick businessman and philanthropist who turned a financially struggling Atlanta TV station into a media empire around CNN, the first 24-hour cable news station, has died.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
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Besides more on maverick Turner’s death, talking about that transaction was kind of the point today of anyone really listening to the soon-to-exiting WBD execs.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
6 May 2026
Noun
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One of us even faced an assassination plot in Canada and concluded he was poisoned in Russia for defending Iranian human rights lawyers and Russian dissidents.—
Irwin Cotler,
Time,
8 May 2026
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LondonReuters — Two men, including a British immigration officer, were found guilty in a London court on Thursday of spying on behalf of Hong Kong and ultimately China, targeting prominent pro-democracy dissidents now based in Britain.—
Reuters,
CNN Money,
8 May 2026
Noun
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To distinguish itself from all the other renegade action shows out there, showrunner Kyle Killen echoes his project’s cinematic predecessor, albeit with hollow results.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
30 Apr. 2026
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The film stars renegade country singer Elizabeth Cook as a fictionalized version of herself, portraying an artist navigating midlife while contending with an industry that has never fully embraced her.—
Kennedy French,
Variety,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Tempo’s ascendence and corporate partnerships are indicative of a larger trend where well-heeled, corporate firms—from Robinhood to Stripe—are making their way into blockchain, traditionally the territory of anti-establishmentarians and iconoclasts.—
Jack Kubinec,
Fortune,
21 Apr. 2026
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On the top floor of a Brooklyn brownstone, the AD100 iconoclast has realized an immersive feat of contemporary design—and by hand no less.—
Sam Cochran,
Architectural Digest,
15 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Heretic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heretic. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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