heterodox

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adjective het·ero·dox \ ˈhe-tə-rə-ˌdäks , ˈhe-trə- \

Definition of heterodox

1 :contrary to or different from an acknowledged standard, a traditional form, or an established religion :unorthodox, unconventional

heterodox ideas

2 :holding unorthodox opinions or doctrines

a heterodox religious sect

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Examples of heterodox in a Sentence

a Christian clergyman with a very heterodox opinion on the divinity of Jesus
her heterodox approach to teaching science initially met with some resistance from her peers

Recent Examples of heterodox from the Web

For years this small stone hall was a place of worship for local Alevis, heterodox Muslims who are estimated to form between a tenth and a fifth of the Turkish population.

— patrick kingsley, New York Times, "Turkey’s Alevis, a Muslim Minority, Fear a Policy of Denying Their Existence," 22 July 2017
Mother Jones columnist Kevin Drum, an influential though occasionally heterodox liberal, seconded the argument.

— kay s. hymowitz, National Review, "Can Democrats Make Nice with the ‘Deplorables’?," 14 July 2017
Because the president is a foreign policy novice with heterodox views, Congress has been unusually eager to serve as backseat drivers for his diplomatic efforts.

— jeet heer, New Republic, "Does Trump’s Syria Policy Remind You of Someone?," 20 June 2017
Tyrel Ventura, co-host of the evening show Watching the Hawks and son of Jesse, says his dad was ostracized from politics, then cable news, for his heterodox beliefs.

— Bloomberg.com, "At RT, News Breaks You," 4 May 2017
Weinstein’s concerns about PrEP are in line with his other heterodox positions, which often cut against the sexual-liberationist doctrine embraced by other activists.

— christopher glazek, New York Times, "The C.E.O. of H.I.V.," 26 Apr. 2017
The economists who have offered theories of inequality tend to be those on the heterodox fringes: David Ricardo, Karl Marx, Henry George and, more recently, Thomas Piketty.

— gregory clark, WSJ, "The Surest Cure for Inequality," 20 Jan. 2017
Decius is a longtime conservative, though a heterodox one.

— kelefa sanneh, The New Yorker, "Intellectuals for Trump," 9 Jan. 2017

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

Did You Know?

Orthodoxy ... is my doxy - heterodoxy is another man's doxy, quipped 18th-century bishop William Warburton. He was only punning, but it is true that individuals often see other people's ideas as unconventional while regarding their own as beyond reproach. The antonyms "orthodox" and "heterodox" developed from the same root, the Greek doxa, which means "opinion." Heterodox derives from "doxa" plus "heter-," a combining form meaning "other" or "different"; "orthodoxy" pairs "doxa" with orth-, meaning "correct" or "straight."