iconoclast
noun
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For the Meaning of Iconoclast, Break It Down
Iconoclast comes from the Greek word eikonoklastēs, which translates literally as “image destroyer.” While the destruction wrought by today’s iconoclasts is figurative—in modern use, an iconoclast is someone who criticizes or opposes beliefs and practices that are widely accepted—the first iconoclasts directed their ire at religious icons, those representations of sacred individuals used as objects of veneration. The Byzantine Empire’s Iconoclastic Controversy occurred in the 8th and 9th centuries, but the word iconoclast didn’t find its way to English until the 17th century. Figurative use came later still.
Examples of iconoclast in a Sentence
Lisa Riordan Seville, ProPublica, 17 Oct. 2025
Both men were iconoclasts who took MTV’s money and ran with it, adopting a collage approach to the news in which information was conveyed to the audience without the intermediary of an anchor or host, often with cuts that allowed shots to play out for only a fraction of a second.
—Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 16 Oct. 2025
To be in the presence of this iconoclast was quite something.
—Ellie Goulding, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2025
Even the possibility of Stern going away is a signal of how things have changed for the iconoclast.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for iconoclast
Cite this Entry
“Iconoclast.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/iconoclast. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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