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
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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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of heretic
By 1120, the church council in Jerusalem ordered that sodomites, like heretics, be burned at the stake.
—
S. C. Cornell, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2025
The witch in question is Jovovich’s Gray Alys, introduced on the brink of being hanged as a heretic by Ash (Arly Jover), a fervent enforcer in a dystopian future ruled by both a royal house and cult-like church.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 6 Mar. 2025
And heretics, even if they’re not burned at the stake, are dehumanized, ostracized and denied any empathy and understanding.
—Arianna Huffington, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024
The point of dogma is to define and defend the borders of acceptable opinion, and brand anyone who goes outside them as quite simply a heretic.
—Arianna Huffington, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for heretic
S. C. Cornell, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2025
The witch in question is Jovovich’s Gray Alys, introduced on the brink of being hanged as a heretic by Ash (Arly Jover), a fervent enforcer in a dystopian future ruled by both a royal house and cult-like church.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 6 Mar. 2025
And heretics, even if they’re not burned at the stake, are dehumanized, ostracized and denied any empathy and understanding.
—Arianna Huffington, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024
The point of dogma is to define and defend the borders of acceptable opinion, and brand anyone who goes outside them as quite simply a heretic.
—Arianna Huffington, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for heretic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heretic
Noun
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Board member Camille Rodriguez was the lone dissenter during the board vote.—
Lina Ruiz,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Apr. 2025
-
Outgoing Councilwoman Jenny Spencer was the only dissenter.—
Sam Allard,
Axios,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
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So naturally, the series went in a totally different direction with the new boss, introducing him as a maverick who runs into danger and a chief whose leadership style is a far cry from Boden’s strong but kind-hearted approach.—
Vlada Gelman,
TVLine,
11 Apr. 2025
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At one point, that must have seemed like a sweet validation for Navarro, a maverick among prominent economists despite his Harvard Ph.D.—
Niall Stanage,
The Hill,
11 Apr. 2025
Noun
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While one reading of Xi is that his rhetoric is in part a strategic move to burnish Chinese power globally, labeling Taiwan as a renegade or breakaway province is, for many, a clear indication of an intention to invade and bring the island within the geography of Chinese sovereignty.—
Colin Flint,
The Conversation,
2 Apr. 2025
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The renegades were attempting to void the ACC’s grant-of-rights agreement, which would clear them to join the SEC or Big Ten.—
Jon Wilner,
The Mercury News,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Historically, his efforts to advance more climate-friendly technologies, his socially liberal stances, and his entrepreneurship positioned him as a likable iconoclast by broad swathes of the population.—
Michael Khouw,
CNBC,
13 Mar. 2025
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Even as Republicans embrace him as an iconoclast, Democrats and other critics have lambasted Kennedy as a know-nothing without the scientific or bureaucratic experience to do the job effectively.—
Vox Staff,
Vox,
7 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heretic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heretic. Accessed 26 Apr. 2025.
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