as in dissent
departure from a generally accepted theory, opinion, or practice
Copernicus's theory that the earth revolved around the sun was arrant heterodoxy at a time when the earth was thought to be the center of the universe
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Recent Examples of heterodoxy
Shalom Auslander’s literary career has been built on equal parts comedy, heterodoxy and self-loathing.
—
Mark Athitakis, Washington Post, 25 July 2024
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
The third or worst scenario would be if Rome would for some reason fail to address this situation on time; the heterodoxy would consequently rashly spread within the Church.
—Fr. Goran Jovicic, National Review, 13 June 2021
Trump’s heterodoxy and disruptiveness provided the equivalent of an enormous natural experiment, and the results were surprising.
—Oren Cass, Foreign Affairs, 12 Feb. 2021
Four months later, Wilson was ousted as CEO of Ascend, having already been stripped of his responsibilities as early as July, just one month after expressing his heterodoxy.
—Madeline Fry Schultz, Washington Examiner, 10 Dec. 2020
McCain does not appear to have consciously intended his embrace of the campaign finance reform topic to be a major act of ideological heterodoxy.
—Matthew Yglesias, Vox, 26 Aug. 2018
Kanye has long worked with songwriters — something that, because it’s perceived as heterodoxy, is rarely discussed openly.
—Jon Caramanica, New York Times, 25 June 2018
Mark Athitakis, Washington Post, 25 July 2024
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
The third or worst scenario would be if Rome would for some reason fail to address this situation on time; the heterodoxy would consequently rashly spread within the Church.
—Fr. Goran Jovicic, National Review, 13 June 2021
Trump’s heterodoxy and disruptiveness provided the equivalent of an enormous natural experiment, and the results were surprising.
—Oren Cass, Foreign Affairs, 12 Feb. 2021
Four months later, Wilson was ousted as CEO of Ascend, having already been stripped of his responsibilities as early as July, just one month after expressing his heterodoxy.
—Madeline Fry Schultz, Washington Examiner, 10 Dec. 2020
McCain does not appear to have consciously intended his embrace of the campaign finance reform topic to be a major act of ideological heterodoxy.
—Matthew Yglesias, Vox, 26 Aug. 2018
Kanye has long worked with songwriters — something that, because it’s perceived as heterodoxy, is rarely discussed openly.
—Jon Caramanica, New York Times, 25 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heterodoxy
Noun
-
Three of the court’s 11 active judges would have granted rehearing, and one dissent is expected to be published at a later date.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Jan. 2026
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The incident demonstrates that freezing out a critical voice through administrative pressure constitutes an authoritarian suppression of dissent, with the blocking itself becoming more newsworthy and damaging to the administration than the governor’s original remarks would have been.—
George Skelton,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
When something is so embedded in our routines, even a small shift can feel like heresy.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
16 Jan. 2026
-
To purists who fantasize about the fullest possible immersion in the original text, creative adaptation of this sort sounds like heresy.—
Eric Bulson,
The Atlantic,
2 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Heterodoxy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heterodoxy. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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