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
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
Among those applauding at the end was Carmen Chaplin, one of the director’s granddaughters, and even heretics, whose faith in Chaplin is fickle, will have been swept along.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 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
Marc Levin, Twin Cities, 7 Oct. 2025
Among those applauding at the end was Carmen Chaplin, one of the director’s granddaughters, and even heretics, whose faith in Chaplin is fickle, will have been swept along.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 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
-
Demanding papers, dragging away dissenters.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Tanenbaum is his sixth sitting justice, leaving the senior justice, Jorge Labarga, as a lonely dissenter facing mandatory retirement in October 2027.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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There is a word that goes around, a maverick.—
Roshane Thomas,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Bamberger, often regarded as a maverick, proved that degraded land could be revived.—
Lana Ferguson,
Dallas Morning News,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
This is when the dissident has always stepped in.—
Gal Beckerman,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
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The demonstrations began in late December in response to the collapsing value of the national currency -- the rial -- before morphing into a wider anti-regime movement which drew backing from dissidents abroad and Western governments.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
But, a renegade locomotive is careening toward Los Angeles in its place.—
Jillian Sederholm,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Jan. 2026
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Holding hands, terrace kisses and renegade servants?—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
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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That is not a slight against Craig, whose ’90s-boy-band bangs and Foghorn Leghorn accent make private detective Benoit Blanc a delightful iconoclast.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
12 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heretic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heretic. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
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