as in weirdos
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 freethinkers
These, um, freethinkers were unintentionally encouraged by the airport’s art.
—
Charlie Sosnick, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Dec. 2025
My mom, like many freethinkers of her generation, butted heads against anything that reinforced the status quo, and let us children grow like wild weeds into our own individuals.
—Morgan Lockhart, PEOPLE, 29 Nov. 2025
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
Charlie Sosnick, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Dec. 2025
My mom, like many freethinkers of her generation, butted heads against anything that reinforced the status quo, and let us children grow like wild weeds into our own individuals.
—Morgan Lockhart, PEOPLE, 29 Nov. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for freethinkers
Noun
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Surrounded by a delightful cast of weirdos — with a scene-stealing, hilarious turn by Marc Maron as sleazy director Sam Sylvia — GLOW is a comedy match-up worth cheering for.—
Andrew Walsh,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Apr. 2026
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About watching a movie that isn’t trying to be great, but is trying to do something, anything, to entertain weirdos like you.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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O’Hara worked consistently across her 50-year career in both film and television, best known for playing beloved kooks and amiable wackos, though her range was boundless.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
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What so many of these talking heads have in common—legitimate experts, well-meaning journalists, and kooks alike—is how costly their recommendations are.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
3 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Those crazy, diverse individuals, that tribe of oddballs and eccentrics, dreamers, and gamblers who make up this business.—
Natalia Senanayake,
PEOPLE,
14 Apr. 2026
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On her trail are a Báthory relative who is vegetarian (Thomas Schubert), his psychotherapist (Lars Eidinger), two vampirologists, a police inspector and a gallery of eccentrics.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The crackpots are the mainstream.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
31 Dec. 2025
Noun
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All the sun’s planets are oddballs.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
17 Apr. 2026
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Those crazy, diverse individuals, that tribe of oddballs and eccentrics, dreamers, and gamblers who make up this business.—
Natalia Senanayake,
PEOPLE,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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New York City is full of remorseless individualists who nonetheless stick to some codes very rigidly.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
8 Nov. 2025
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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
Noun
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The women in her stories feel profound, distinct uncertainty toward convention—less as iconoclasts than fierce individuals.—
Chloe Schama,
Vogue,
26 Dec. 2025
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The show’s hosts, Charlotte Shane and Jo Livingstone, are two of our coolest literary iconoclasts.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
9 Dec. 2025
Noun
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According to registered dietitians, a mix of nuts, especially pistachios, and dried tart cherries is the healthiest late-night snack.—
Lynn Andriani,
Martha Stewart,
19 Apr. 2026
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Many whole foods are naturally gluten-free, including fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Freethinkers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/freethinkers. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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