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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Not the crazy aunt/spell-casting kook who’s going to be film fans’ top Halloween costume this year.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
9 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Made mostly of muscle without a bone in their bodies, these wonderful weirdos can squeeze into spaces scarcely bigger than their eyeballs.—
Kate Siber,
Outside,
21 Oct. 2025
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You macabre-loving weirdos can get your fright on in numerous ways around Greater Cincinnati.—
Haadiza Ogwude,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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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
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In a sane world, someone who claimed that one of the most beneficial accomplishments in human history — the polio vaccine — did more harm than good would be seen as a dangerous crackpot.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Sep. 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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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
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For decades, sovereign citizens largely flew under the radar in Australia as relatively harmless eccentrics with a special interest in conspiracy theories.—
Hilary Whiteman,
CNN Money,
29 Aug. 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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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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The end result of their work is a rallying cry for filmmakers pushing against calcified thinking and conventional wisdom — and unsurprisingly, Pellington says that working on the documentary put him back in touch with the fearless twentysomething maverick inside of him.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
16 Oct. 2025
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The Arsham Splash dovetails into Hublot’s longstanding maverick approach but also into a growing watchmaking trend of offering pieces that break away from traditional high-end watchmaking.—
Lily Templeton,
Footwear News,
9 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Freethinker.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/freethinker. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
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