as in dissent
departure from a generally accepted theory, opinion, or practice
the heresy of asserting that Shakespeare was not a great writer
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Recent Examples of heresy
Like Anne Boleyn and Thomas More before him, Cromwell was transported to the Tower of London, where he was imprisoned on charges of treason; heresy; and, most implausibly, conspiring to wed Henry’s daughter Mary.
—
Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Mar. 2025
With the rest of Christendom either lost to the Catholic heresy or under Muslim domination, it was left to Russia, as the Third Rome, to keep true Orthodoxy alive and the Antichrist at bay.
—Iver B. Neumann, Foreign Affairs, 3 Feb. 2017
Before becoming pope, Benedict, a Bavarian, was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, responsible for confronting heresy.
—Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
Bishops, who were the heads of the central churches in cities and supported by the emperors, met together in several general – ecumenical – councils to condemn heresies and assign authority more clearly.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 15 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heresy
Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Mar. 2025
With the rest of Christendom either lost to the Catholic heresy or under Muslim domination, it was left to Russia, as the Third Rome, to keep true Orthodoxy alive and the Antichrist at bay.
—Iver B. Neumann, Foreign Affairs, 3 Feb. 2017
Before becoming pope, Benedict, a Bavarian, was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, responsible for confronting heresy.
—Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
Bishops, who were the heads of the central churches in cities and supported by the emperors, met together in several general – ecumenical – councils to condemn heresies and assign authority more clearly.
—Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 15 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heresy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heresy
Noun
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The basic plot mirrors Kon Ichikawa’s brutal antiwar classic Fires on the Plain, in which Japanese soldiers are left to starve on the Philippines island of Leyte during the waning days of World War II, and Anderson is serious about political oppression and the power of dissent.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
7 June 2025
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In her dissent Friday in the Naples case, Abudu pointed to the appeals court ruling in the Hamburger Mary’s case.—
Jim Saunders,
The Orlando Sentinel,
6 June 2025
Noun
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Shalom Auslander’s literary career has been built on equal parts comedy, heterodoxy and self-loathing.—
Mark Athitakis,
Washington Post,
25 July 2024
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Trump’s heterodoxy and disruptiveness provided the equivalent of an enormous natural experiment, and the results were surprising.—
Oren Cass,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Feb. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Heresy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heresy. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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