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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Recent Examples of freethinker
Rasoulof has become very good at identifying fellow freethinkers.
—
Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2024
Some were fleeing San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake, while others just wanted to commune with like-minded freethinkers.
—Lizbeth Scordo, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Nov. 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
Doctors volunteered, but so did nurses, store owners, actors, academics, factory workers and freethinkers – even prisoners about to be executed.
—Susan E. Lederer, The Conversation, 10 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for freethinker
Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2024
Some were fleeing San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake, while others just wanted to commune with like-minded freethinkers.
—Lizbeth Scordo, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Nov. 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
Doctors volunteered, but so did nurses, store owners, actors, academics, factory workers and freethinkers – even prisoners about to be executed.
—Susan E. Lederer, The Conversation, 10 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for freethinker
Recent Examples of Synonyms for freethinker
Noun
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The kooks of that age believed that Iran-Contra was only just an inkling of the secret government behind the scenes that was preparing to herd Americans into prison camps.—
Chris Stirewalt,
The Hill,
7 Oct. 2025
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At the rose ceremony, Mel hands roses to Roxanne, Debbie, Gerri, Monica P., Monica B., Carol, Peg, Nicolle (of course), Robin, Amy and Terri, with Alexandra the kook among those going home.—
Dave Nemetz,
TVLine,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Savalas, a veteran actor who’d shortly become a ’70s TV icon as the star of Kojak, is locked into the film’s spirit, playing Leandro as a menacing, lollipop-sucking weirdo who offers occasional flashes of a knowing twinkle in his eye.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
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Some of the best collaborations ahead will come from unexpected DMs and late-night debates with your fellow weirdos.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
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There’s also a subplot involving an elderly cancer patient, a pizza restaurant that doesn’t deliver outside of the city, and a crackpot scheme to move the city-limit sign down the highway so that Clara’s crush can get his grandpa’s favorite pie sent to their home.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
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What are the odds that this crackpot might find the perfect mix of soldiers and suckers for his quest among the late-night crowd at one of L.A.’s timeless-looking Norms joints?—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The portrait that emerges from Kroll’s reporting is that of a man who is equal parts government technocrat, political operator and zealous iconoclast.—
Lisa Riordan Seville,
ProPublica,
17 Oct. 2025
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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
Noun
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Appealing to consumers searching for a piece of history, the store has gained a following of visitors hunting for unique souvenirs, designers on inspiration trips and local eccentrics.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
24 Oct. 2025
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For Mimi Pond, the desire to do a book about the Mitford sisters – six larger-than-life British eccentrics (and one brother) who created a stir in both British and American culture – was obvious.—
Erik Pedersen,
Oc Register,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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My job was to conceptualize and oversee a luncheon for fifty of these luminaries—with the help of a woozy codger standing in front of me.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Oct. 2025
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Indeed, exercise is for everyone, from toddlers to codgers.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
23 May 2025
Noun
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Based on actual events, Eden features a starry cast playing a disparate group of rugged individualists who all find themselves in the Galapagos in the early 20th century, each abandoning society in the hopes of creating a utopia.—
Will Leitch,
Vulture,
22 Aug. 2025
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Although Americans are individualists, we’re still expected to go home for the holidays and to cite our parents as our greatest sources of inspiration.—
Anesce Dremen,
Longreads,
3 July 2025
Noun
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Most of our mavericks who fly that close to the sun never get to see that journey through.—
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson,
Rolling Stone,
30 Oct. 2025
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Still, his detective instincts are ultimately reawakened, and his new department becomes a magnet for a crew of misfits and mavericks.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Freethinker.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/freethinker. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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