heterodox
adjective
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Hot take: individuals often see other people’s ideas as unconventional while regarding their own as common sense. On second thought, this take may be more on the mild side—in other words, closer to orthodox (“conventional”) insight about human nature than to heterodox (“unconventional” or “contrary”) opinion. Both orthodox and heterodox developed from the same root, the Greek doxa, meaning “opinion.” Heterodox combines doxa with heter-, a combining form meaning “other” or “different”; orthodox pairs doxa with orth-, meaning “correct” or “straight.”
Examples of heterodox in a Sentence
Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
As a first-time candidate, Trump lit the GOP field on fire with his heterodox presidential campaign, while Rubio at one point represented the last, best hope for the establishment Republican Party.
—Haisten Willis, The Washington Examiner, 2 May 2025
Kennedy’s extreme skepticism about vaccines is by far the most controversial element of his heterodox beliefs on public health.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 16 Dec. 2024
Senators will probe the nominees about their personal lives, experience, heterodox views and promises to up-end the status quo at the departments they’ve been picked to lead.
—Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 13 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Heterodox.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heterodox. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.
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heterodox
adjective
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