heretic

noun her·e·tic \ ˈher-ə-ˌtik , ˈhe-rə- \

Updated on: 1 Apr 2018

Definition of heretic

1 religion : a person who differs in opinion from established religious dogma (see dogma 2); especially : a baptized member of the Roman Catholic Church who refuses to acknowledge or accept a revealed truth

The church regards them as heretics.

2 : one who differs in opinion from an accepted belief or doctrine : nonconformist

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Examples of heretic in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of heretic from the Web

Director Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1928 film focuses largely on the trial of French heroine Joan of Arc, who was burned at the stake in 1431 after being tried as a heretic.

— greg crawford, Detroit Free Press, "Plan your weekend: Dance Theatre of Harlem, Tracy Morgan, Downriver craft fair," 21 Mar. 2018
The church condemned Abelard as a heretic, effectively silencing his campaign to change church attitudes about the Jews.

— april austin, The Christian Science Monitor, "'The Cloister' probes deeply into matters of faith, dogma, complicity, and forgiveness," 16 Mar. 2018
Sufi Muslims, viewed as heretics by the Sunni extremists, have also been targeted.

— sudarsan raghavan, Washington Post, "Militant threat emerges in Egyptian desert, opening new front in terrorism fight," 14 Mar. 2018
The Sunni militants consider the Shiites heretics and urge followers to kill them.

— Fox News, "The Latest: Suicide bomber targets Hazaras in Kabul, kills 7," 9 Mar. 2018
This was an age in Europe in which the Inquisition flourished, when heretics were tortured and burned, when Luther spoke of letting heads roll in the streets, and when one massacre wiped out 30,000 Protestants in France.

— elizabeth l. greene, idahostatesman, "Religious freedom edict from centuries ago resonate today | Idaho Statesman," 24 Feb. 2018
One senior American priest tells me that the Church is in its worst crisis since Arius, the third-century heretic who converted whole regions of bishops to his heresy.

— benedict kiely, National Review, "Pope Francis Gets His ‘Mess’," 9 Feb. 2018
The newbie Democratic candidates campaigning for the mid-terms are perhaps unusually ideological, the party having deterred pro-lifers and other heretics.

— The Economist, "The last of the moderates," 1 Feb. 2018
Back then, everyone associated with these ideas was regarded as a heretic.

— daniel henninger, WSJ, "The Godfather of Tax Reform," 20 Dec. 2017

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