heresy

noun her·e·sy \ ˈher-ə-sē , ˈhe-rə- \

Definition of heresy

plural heresies

1 a :adherence to a religious opinion contrary to church dogma (see dogma 2)

They were accused of heresy.

b :denial of a revealed truth by a baptized member of the Roman Catholic Church

c :an opinion or doctrine contrary to church dogma

2 a :dissent or deviation from a dominant theory, opinion, or practice

To disagree with the party leadership was heresy.

b :an opinion, doctrine, or practice contrary to the truth or to generally accepted beliefs or standards

our democratic heresy which holds that … truth is to be found by majority vote
—M. W. Straight

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Examples of heresy in a Sentence

They were accused of heresy.
He was preaching dangerous heresies.

Recent Examples of heresy from the Web

PURGING IDOLATRY IS destroyed other Islamic sites in the name of its fanatical drive to purge anything that in its eyes smacked of idolatry and heresy, which included a wide range of Muslim traditions.

— lee keath, The Seattle Times, "A Mosul mosque in rubble, victim of militants’ destruction," 29 June 2017
PURGING IDOLATRY IS destroyed other Islamic sites in the name of its fanatical drive to purge anything that in its eyes smacked of idolatry and heresy, which included a wide range of Muslim traditions.

— Washington Post, "A Mosul mosque in rubble, victim of militants’ destruction," 29 June 2017
PURGING IDOLATRY IS destroyed other Islamic sites in the name of its fanatical drive to purge anything that in its eyes smacked of idolatry and heresy, which included a wide range of Muslim traditions.

— lee keath, The Seattle Times, "A Mosul mosque in rubble, victim of militants’ destruction," 29 June 2017
PURGING IDOLATRY IS destroyed other Islamic sites in the name of its fanatical drive to purge anything that in its eyes smacked of idolatry and heresy, which included a wide range of Muslim traditions.

— Washington Post, "A Mosul mosque in rubble, victim of militants’ destruction," 29 June 2017
Lamb gyro burrito at Big & Little's Talk about heresy.

— nick kindelsperger, chicagotribune.com, "5 great burritos," 9 June 2017
Lamb gyro burrito at Big & Little's Talk about heresy.

— nick kindelsperger, chicagotribune.com, "5 great burritos," 9 June 2017
But for a conservative region, Kokomo and surrounding Howard County are committing a kind of economic heresy.

— laurent belsie, The Christian Science Monitor, "Trump’s dream of blue-collar jobs? In Kokomo, success calls for more.," 9 June 2017
Mr. Brooks said the thought of him slowing down in older age is heresy.

— dan hyman, New York Times, "For Carl Reiner and His Fellow Nonagenarians, Death Can Wait," 2 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'heresy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of heresy

Middle English heresie, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin haeresis, from Late Greek hairesis, from Greek, action of taking, choice, sect, from hairein to take

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First Known Use: 13th century

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