as in dissident
deviating from commonly accepted beliefs or practices
the book offers iconoclastic and irreverent portraits of some of history's most sacred cows
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Recent Examples of iconoclastic
But the 1960s took hold and being iconoclastic became fashion.
—
Martine Paris, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Her snide answers to their belittling questions are smart and iconoclastic, setting the stage for the other characters in the movie who also think outside the box.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025
The iconoclastic Eric André will play Don Sauvage, a more recent addition to the Street Fighter franchise who appears as a ring announcer.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Sep. 2025
An iconoclastic director who was, like Teresa, born and raised in Skopje, Mitevska is among the trailblazers who paved the way for a younger generation of Balkan women behind the camera.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025
An eight-time Grammy winner, Palmieri took both an iconoclastic and professorial approach to his music, striving for perfection through various means and genres.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2025
Unidentified, the latest from Saudi Arabian director Haifaa Al Mansour (Wadjda), an iconoclastic crime thriller that questions our collective fascination with tales of femicide.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025
Martine Paris, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Her snide answers to their belittling questions are smart and iconoclastic, setting the stage for the other characters in the movie who also think outside the box.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025
The iconoclastic Eric André will play Don Sauvage, a more recent addition to the Street Fighter franchise who appears as a ring announcer.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Sep. 2025
An iconoclastic director who was, like Teresa, born and raised in Skopje, Mitevska is among the trailblazers who paved the way for a younger generation of Balkan women behind the camera.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025
An eight-time Grammy winner, Palmieri took both an iconoclastic and professorial approach to his music, striving for perfection through various means and genres.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2025
Unidentified, the latest from Saudi Arabian director Haifaa Al Mansour (Wadjda), an iconoclastic crime thriller that questions our collective fascination with tales of femicide.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for iconoclastic
Adjective
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This situation has raised the question once again as to whether the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) should create a special category for dissident filmmakers who are barred from representing their countries.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
10 Sep. 2025
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In Northern Ireland, dissident IRA groups launched attacks even after the Good Friday Agreement was concluded in 1998, which formally ended the Troubles.—
Alpaslan Ozerdem,
The Conversation,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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There is immense comfort in shared failure; there is immense career risk in an unconventional success that cannot be easily explained to a board.—
Benjamin D. Summers,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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And at last week’s Davis Cup qualifiers, an even weirder extension of the unconventional serve made a high-profile appearance.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Board member Renee Paschall cast the lone dissenting vote on the final package.—
Elizabeth Sander,
San Antonio Express-News,
19 Aug. 2022
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The document runs to more than a hundred and fifty pages, and for each question there are affirmative and dissenting studies, as well as some that indicate mixed results.—
The New Yorker,
The New Yorker,
3 June 2022
Adjective
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Too cruel, too pointed, and way too out-there, at least in the world that Roach and McNamara have previously knit together.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
26 Aug. 2025
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What were some other out-there ideas that never came to fruition?—
Devon Ivie,
Vulture,
18 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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These statements were heretical in Athens, where Anaxagoras lived.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
20 Aug. 2025
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Although the French and Italian religious authorities welcomed their piety, those in Germany tended to suppress them as heretical and revolutionary.—
Michael Robbins,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Iconoclastic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/iconoclastic. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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