1
as in dissenter
a person who believes, teaches, or advocates something opposed to accepted beliefs
Galileo was condemned as a heretic for supporting Copernicus's thesis that the earth revolves around the sun and not vice versa
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in maverick
a person who does not conform to generally accepted standards or customs
he's the ultimate heretic: a Yankees fan living deep in the heart of the Red Sox Nation
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of heretic
Added to that, in the eyes of Roman Catholic Europe—and many of her own subjects—the new Queen was a heretic.
—
Literary Hub, 4 Nov. 2025
While many European nations and Canada do subject hateful or vaguely threatening speech to sanctions, ours is a rough and tumble nation born of the Boston Tea Party and settled by Pilgrims, who were heretics of their time.
—Marc Levin, Twin Cities, 7 Oct. 2025
Giordano Bruno, a like-minded heretic, already had been just a few years earlier.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2025
This approach demands that those who were once secular priests—the leaders of the philanthropic sector—abandon their cassocks and accept the mantle of the heretic.
—Mark Malloch-Brown, Foreign Affairs, 15 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for heretic
Literary Hub, 4 Nov. 2025
While many European nations and Canada do subject hateful or vaguely threatening speech to sanctions, ours is a rough and tumble nation born of the Boston Tea Party and settled by Pilgrims, who were heretics of their time.
—Marc Levin, Twin Cities, 7 Oct. 2025
Giordano Bruno, a like-minded heretic, already had been just a few years earlier.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2025
This approach demands that those who were once secular priests—the leaders of the philanthropic sector—abandon their cassocks and accept the mantle of the heretic.
—Mark Malloch-Brown, Foreign Affairs, 15 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for heretic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heretic
Noun
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Such torrential downpours, from loyalists and dissenters alike, often follow the deaths of notorious and long-ruling dictators—Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Saddam Hussein.—
Gal Beckerman,
The Atlantic,
3 Mar. 2026
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Board member Kevin Lynch was the lone dissenter, and there was no board discussion on the topic besides clarifying questions on the motion.—
Lina Ruiz,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
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This isn’t the first time Tecovas has taken a maverick position.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
3 Mar. 2026
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In 1992, Ross Perot ran as a maverick presidential candidate on one major issue, the peril of huge debts, deficits and especially interest payments that were devouring the budget and leaving less and less money for the retirees, health care and defense.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Grozev famously identified the men behind the August 2020 poisoning of the late Russian dissident Alexey Navalny.—
Will Croxton,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
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Roozbeh Farahanipour, a former Iranian dissident who now lives in Los Angeles, worries that a destabilized Iran, with its complex cultural heritage and patchwork of ethnic and religious groups, could devolve into a far worse mess than post-invasion Iraq.—
Jack Dolan,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
Noun
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This unique journey-within-a-journey was established by renegade hotelier Thierry Teyssier, founder of the regenerative-hospitality company 700,000 Heures Impact.—
Kevin West,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Mar. 2026
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Gehlfuss' rigid, rule-following Bill Goodman serves as a foil to Colin's renegade, acting as an FBI liaison to the CIA.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But, more intriguingly, the often shape-shifting iconoclast will be trying on what promises to be a new or at least evolved musical style.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
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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
Cite this Entry
“Heretic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heretic. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
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