1
as in dissenters
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 mavericks
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
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Recent Examples of heretics
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
Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heretics
Noun
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The alternative is a politics in which the state survives by making dissenters illegitimate as citizens.—
Stephanie A,
The Conversation,
22 Jan. 2026
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Though the dissenters were in the minority, as this was the direction the movement was headed.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Garcia, who plays cartel boss Gallino in the second season of the Paramount+ show, praised Sheridan as one of Hollywood's true mavericks.—
Lauryn Overhultz , Larry Fink,
FOXNews.com,
1 Dec. 2025
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Most of our mavericks who fly that close to the sun never get to see that journey through.—
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson,
Rolling Stone,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The Iranian government—one of the most repressive regimes in the world—has long relied on accusations of collaboration with hostile foreign powers, usually the United States or Israel, to silence journalists, activists, and dissidents.—
Omid Memarian,
The Atlantic,
25 Jan. 2026
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Putin's decades-long rule in Russia has included allegedly orchestrating dozens of murders of dissidents like Alexei Navalny, using the country as his personal piggy bank and kidnapping thousands of Ukrainian children.—
Josh Meyer,
USA Today,
24 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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The show’s hosts, Charlotte Shane and Jo Livingstone, are two of our coolest literary iconoclasts.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
9 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heretics.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heretics. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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