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
All have historical roots, many once considered and debated, just to be cast aside during the Oslo years, when the two-state solution—whose roots were shallower—ruled supreme, became the lingua franca, and all else was deemed heresy.
—
Hussein Agha, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
His writings were condemned by the church as heresy but found a fan centuries later in Martin Heidegger, which makes sense.
—Jon Raymond
august 5, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2025
The company descended into a form of professional wrestling madness as storylines no longer made sense, with the curtain frequently pulled back to expose pro wrestling in a way that was heresy to many longtime fans.
—Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 24 July 2025
The Inquisition was created to combat heresy in Spain and maintain Catholic Orthodoxy but was a mask for Spain to consolidate power through brutal and violent means.
—Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 15 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for heresy
Hussein Agha, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
His writings were condemned by the church as heresy but found a fan centuries later in Martin Heidegger, which makes sense.
—Jon Raymond
august 5, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2025
The company descended into a form of professional wrestling madness as storylines no longer made sense, with the curtain frequently pulled back to expose pro wrestling in a way that was heresy to many longtime fans.
—Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 24 July 2025
The Inquisition was created to combat heresy in Spain and maintain Catholic Orthodoxy but was a mask for Spain to consolidate power through brutal and violent means.
—Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 15 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for heresy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heresy
Noun
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The Afrikaners later set up the apartheid system which segregated the races, prevented the Black majority from voting, and brutally clamped down on dissent.—
Kate Bartlett,
NPR,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Sisi has since cracked down on dissent and civic freedoms.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 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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Historians have put forward theories which emphasized the (overstated) isolation of the province, its religious heterodoxy, and, most compellingly, its lack of the kind of 17th-century political traditions that colonists in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia drew on for support.—
Alexandra L. Montgomery,
Smithsonian Magazine,
13 July 2021
Cite this Entry
“Heresy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heresy. Accessed 23 Nov. 2025.
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