heretic

heretic

noun

Definition of HERETIC

1

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 dissenter, dissentient, dissident, heresiarch, nonconformist

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

Near Antonyms believer

Antonyms conformer, conformist

2

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>

Synonyms bohemian, boho, counterculturist, deviant, enfant terrible, free spirit, heretic, iconoclast, individualist, loner, lone ranger, lone wolf, maverick, nonconformer

Related Words freethinker; character, codger, crackbrain, crackpot, crank, eccentric, freak, kook, nut, oddball, screwball, weirdo; eight ball, misfit, outsider; aberrant, anomaly

Near Antonyms adherent, follower, supporter; sheep

Antonyms conformer, conformist