Definition of HETERODOX

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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."

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 on the Web An online bandwagon promotes the most heterodox voices. — Matthew Continetti, National Review, "What Do Republican Voters Want?," 16 Nov. 2019 The Damascus government of Bashar Assad is dominated by Alawites, a heterodox religious minority. — Karl Vick, Time, "What the Death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Says About the War That Killed Him," 31 Oct. 2019 There a wave of vicious campus activism aimed at silencing heterodox speakers, and it was typically empowered by a comprehensive regime of speech codes that exposed students to formal university discipline for daring to utter dissenting views. — David French, National Review, "Courage Is the Cure for Political Correctness," 20 Aug. 2019 At Cambridge, Alves holds the five-year position of Joan Robinson research fellow in heterodox economics, named for an influential but under-recognized economist. — Eshe Nelson, Quartz, "Economics needs to do more than attract women to solve its gender problem," 11 June 2019 Partly in reaction, Campbell rebelled against authorities and defended heterodox ideas for their own sake. — Michael Saler, WSJ, "It Came From the Future," 18 Oct. 2018 To accompany the 2004 documentary — which will screen on Saturday with a Q. and A. afterward — the Metrograph will show some highlights of the Z Channel’s heterodox programming. — Ben Kenigsberg, New York Times, "4 Film Series to Catch in N.Y.C. This Weekend," 12 July 2018 Even now, George Edwards and Matt Glassman argue that Trump cannot influence fellow partisans on his truly heterodox positions. — Christopher Baylor, Vox, "The post-Trump GOP looks a lot like the pre-Trump GOP," 6 Apr. 2018 As president, he’s shown no sign of that heterodox campaign persona, driving Trump-curious Democrats back to the fold. — Matthew Yglesias, Vox, "The Wisconsin Supreme Court election shows the blueprint for a Democratic wave," 5 Apr. 2018

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.