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
This is the language of a company man, not a freethinker.
—
Andrea Long Chu,
Vulture,
5 Aug. 2025
Known as an intellectual society, the freethinkers advocated for equal rights, the abolition of slavery, and rejected secession.
—
Amanda Ogle,
Travel + Leisure,
26 Apr. 2025
Rasoulof has become very good at identifying fellow freethinkers.
—
Carlos Aguilar,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Nov. 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
Andrea Long Chu,
Vulture,
5 Aug. 2025
Known as an intellectual society, the freethinkers advocated for equal rights, the abolition of slavery, and rejected secession.
—
Amanda Ogle,
Travel + Leisure,
26 Apr. 2025
Rasoulof has become very good at identifying fellow freethinkers.
—
Carlos Aguilar,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Nov. 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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After Kent’s resignation, Republican hawks denounced him as a kook and a traitor to the cause, without touching on the delicate question of why Trump appointed such a disreputable figure in the first place.
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Even Kathy Hilton is like a ghost of her former self, with Jen Tilly taking the crown of doddering kook away from her.
Noun
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Richard Dreyfuss stars as an Indiana electric lineman/dad who gets discombobulated after a light from a passing UFO compels him to do weirdo things — like build a mountain replica inside of his home.
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Himes’ novels, like Riley’s films, also run on a bench of eccentric weirdos.
Noun
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Artists have always used music to question authority and expose the cracks (and the crackpots) in the American story.
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In one corner, the heartless girlboss; in the other, the crackpot conspiracy theorist (who just happens to be more sympathetic and charismatic than such types usually are).
Noun
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Moon was a trailblazer and iconoclast.
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Zulfi is an iconoclast and a hustler, a man who dreams of opening a Muslims-only version of Uber and who, even in the face of Shah’s elitism and English society’s broader wariness, holds onto an unshakable optimism.
Noun
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Dippold has populated the show with lovable eccentrics played by great character actors—Dale Dickey, Jeff Hiller, Tim Baltz.
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Inbred eccentrics and bumbling detectives have populated the seaside villages of Bruno Dumont’s absurdist comedies.
Noun
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But what was served up were stale, pale sketches that seemed to have been exhumed from some old codger’s book of gags from 19 bloody 50!
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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.
Noun
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Once Into the Wild hit shelves, McCandless' individualist intrigue became a phenomenon that may never have happened if Krakauer hadn't brought the story to the masses.
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The forty-niners are elemental to our identity as a nation of brave, rugged individualists.
Noun
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His maverick persona and armored storm-chasing vehicle, the Dominator 3 — featured on Jay Leno’s Garage — directly inspired the character of Tyler Owens, played by Glen Powell in the 2024 summer blockbuster Twisters.
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In a way, the fact that Huston was made up of two halves — one part iconoclastic maverick, one part old school craftsman — gave him an edge his fellow septuagenarians lacked.
Cite this Entry
“Freethinker.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/freethinker. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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