as in kook
a person who forms his or her own opinions about important subjects (such as religion and politics) instead of accepting what other people say
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of freethinker
By this time, however, even in cases where freethinkers were convicted of blasphemy, judges appeared to offer leniency.
—
Kristina M. Lee, The Conversation, 18 Oct. 2024
The boys, including brilliant freethinker Melchior (Marshall) and his deaf friend Moritz (Joseph Saraceni), suffer through rote Latin learning with little room for creative thought.
—Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 2 Mar. 2024
As a freethinker who had run afoul of both Judaism and Christianity, Spinoza knew that bigotry and fanaticism weren’t just imposed on the people; they were also imposed by the people.
—Adam Kirsch, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
But get this: the freethinkers who dreamed up this potential flood tide work not out of Honda's Japanese R&D center and studio but its American think tank and design enclave in Southern California.
—Larry Griffin, Car and Driver, 15 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for freethinker
Kristina M. Lee, The Conversation, 18 Oct. 2024
The boys, including brilliant freethinker Melchior (Marshall) and his deaf friend Moritz (Joseph Saraceni), suffer through rote Latin learning with little room for creative thought.
—Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 2 Mar. 2024
As a freethinker who had run afoul of both Judaism and Christianity, Spinoza knew that bigotry and fanaticism weren’t just imposed on the people; they were also imposed by the people.
—Adam Kirsch, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
But get this: the freethinkers who dreamed up this potential flood tide work not out of Honda's Japanese R&D center and studio but its American think tank and design enclave in Southern California.
—Larry Griffin, Car and Driver, 15 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for freethinker
Recent Examples of Synonyms for freethinker
Noun
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Listen to your doctor, not kooks like Bobby Kennedy and Dave Weldon.—
New York Daily News,
Twin Cities,
21 Mar. 2025
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Listen to your doctor, not kooks like Bobby Kennedy and Dave Weldon.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
15 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Danan has crafted a loving ode to every weirdo or outsider who made a TV show (or other pop culture franchise) their entire personality.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
EW.com,
19 May 2025
-
An exclusive group of evolutionary weirdos Only a handful of organisms are known to form collective assemblages for the purpose of dispersing, similar to the nematode towers.—
Lauren Leffer,
Popular Science,
5 June 2025
Noun
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The father, Buddy Smart (Bryan Cranston), is the clan’s second-rate crackpot visionary, a cockeyed optimist who dresses in fuddy-duddy jackets and never knows where the next paycheck is coming from.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
11 June 2025
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It was also designed to look for evidence of continental drift – an idea that was then just starting to shift out of crackpot territory and into the scientific mainstream.—
David Szondy
June 08,
New Atlas,
8 June 2025
Noun
-
Set in 1992 in Aspen, Colorado, and inspired by a true story, Gonzo Girl follows Alley Russo, an aspiring writer who takes on an assistant job to the iconoclast and founder of gonzo journalism, Walker Reade.—
Katcy Stephan,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2025
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The late 13th century paintings were whitewashed following a mid 15th-century fire at the cathedral and subsequently boxed behind woodwork by 1786, which protected them from iconoclasts and vandalization during the French Revolution.—
Francesca Aton,
ARTnews.com,
3 Jan. 2025
Noun
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American eccentrics like Walters long have provided material for satirists across the pond.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
11 June 2025
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There are dozens upon dozens of memorable eccentrics, delusional antiheroes, blustery authority figures, sad sacks, screw-ups and all-too-lovable schmucks that populate the 12 feature films and handful of shorts directed by Wes Anderson.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
28 May 2025
Noun
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Indeed, exercise is for everyone, from toddlers to codgers.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
23 May 2025
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For older codgers like me who prefer golf clubs to nightclubs, a serene and charming alternative is the city of La Quinta, best known for its incomparable golf courses at PGA West and the historic La Quinta Resort & Club, another redolent whiff of Hollywood’s glorious days gone by.—
David Weiss,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Immigration has surged, and the United States has entered an individualist, conservative epoch.—
Robert Petkoff Krish Seenivasan Quinton Kamara,
New York Times,
24 Feb. 2025
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No other nation has more outstanding individualists.—
Philipp Lahm,
The Athletic,
24 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Alvarez has been described as a scientific Indiana Jones, but his reputation as a maverick was built on a foundation of patience and discipline.—
Alec Nevala-Lee
June 11,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2025
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New York is once again home, but Arden is too much a maverick to fall into the establishment trap.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
27 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Freethinker.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/freethinker. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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