as in dissident
deviating from commonly accepted beliefs or practices
the book offers iconoclastic and irreverent portraits of some of history's most sacred cows
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Recent Examples of iconoclastic
In this autofictional novel, Huisman describes growing up in Paris with her beautiful, bipolar mother and iconoclastic, flamboyant father.
—
Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
If its absence speaks obliquely to the Dadaist disregard for aesthetic permanence, its iconography—and its iconoclastic mordancy—echoes throughout his entire corpus.
—Ara H. Merjian, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
The film Carnival Night, released that same year, captured the iconoclastic mood.
—Andrew Fedorov, The Atlantic, 31 Dec. 2025
This holiday season, Amanda Seyfried is double the force to be reckon with as an unhinged wealthy housewife in Lionsgate’s box office success The Housemaid and in Mona Fastvold‘s period epic The Testament of Ann Lee about the iconoclastic, provocative founder of the Shaker movement.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 29 Dec. 2025
Her Agnes is an iconoclastic, witchy woman of the woods, drawn passionately to Paul Mescal’s William Shakespeare but reluctant to give herself over to be a wife and mother.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
Laurie Orlando, who has supervised talent recruitment and strategy at CBS News for nearly a decade, is leaving the Paramount Skydance operation — the latest of the news division’s senior executives to exit as the parent company overhauls its operations under an iconoclastic new editor in chief.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 3 Nov. 2025
Diane Keaton, the iconoclastic and left-of-center Oscar-winning film and fashion icon, has died, according to a family spokesperson who shared the news with People magazine.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 11 Oct. 2025
Scallon is also well known for his 15-year stint at Maison Margiela, from 1993 to 2008, working alongside the iconoclastic founder, Martin Margiela, and functioning as communications head, the voice of the house, and ultimately its art director for communications.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 25 Sep. 2025
Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
If its absence speaks obliquely to the Dadaist disregard for aesthetic permanence, its iconography—and its iconoclastic mordancy—echoes throughout his entire corpus.
—Ara H. Merjian, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
The film Carnival Night, released that same year, captured the iconoclastic mood.
—Andrew Fedorov, The Atlantic, 31 Dec. 2025
This holiday season, Amanda Seyfried is double the force to be reckon with as an unhinged wealthy housewife in Lionsgate’s box office success The Housemaid and in Mona Fastvold‘s period epic The Testament of Ann Lee about the iconoclastic, provocative founder of the Shaker movement.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 29 Dec. 2025
Her Agnes is an iconoclastic, witchy woman of the woods, drawn passionately to Paul Mescal’s William Shakespeare but reluctant to give herself over to be a wife and mother.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
Laurie Orlando, who has supervised talent recruitment and strategy at CBS News for nearly a decade, is leaving the Paramount Skydance operation — the latest of the news division’s senior executives to exit as the parent company overhauls its operations under an iconoclastic new editor in chief.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 3 Nov. 2025
Diane Keaton, the iconoclastic and left-of-center Oscar-winning film and fashion icon, has died, according to a family spokesperson who shared the news with People magazine.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 11 Oct. 2025
Scallon is also well known for his 15-year stint at Maison Margiela, from 1993 to 2008, working alongside the iconoclastic founder, Martin Margiela, and functioning as communications head, the voice of the house, and ultimately its art director for communications.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 25 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for iconoclastic
Adjective
-
After hundreds of thousands of opposition protesters took to the streets in April 2002, Chavez was briefly ousted in a coup by dissident military officers and opposition figures, who installed a new president, businessman Pedro Carmona.—
James Trapani,
Fortune,
6 Jan. 2026
-
The National Liberation Army, or ELN, and FARC dissident groups operate in multiple states along the Venezuela-Colombia border.—
Rebecca Hanson,
The Conversation,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Its modular architecture allows custom sizes, voltages, and geometries, enabling unconventional uses such as structural integration into vehicle frames, drones, or chassis designs.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Jan. 2026
-
In the series, Winkler would play Howard Greenberg, a hard-driving and unconventional criminal defense attorney who is a fierce advocate for his underdog clients.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Board member Renee Paschall cast the lone dissenting vote on the final package.—
Elizabeth Sander,
San Antonio Express-News,
19 Aug. 2022
-
The document runs to more than a hundred and fifty pages, and for each question there are affirmative and dissenting studies, as well as some that indicate mixed results.—
The New Yorker,
The New Yorker,
3 June 2022
Adjective
-
That group — which also included voices from prominent genre brands like Vinegar Syndrome, Fangoria, MPI Media, Alter, and more — toasted not just the scariest cinema but the most out-there media of all kinds.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
21 Oct. 2025
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Every Tuesday, a corner of the Mezquitán market turns into a massive secondhand clothing bazaar, with heaps of statement vintage finds and out-there patterned fabrics spread out over long tables.—
David Shortell,
Travel + Leisure,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
That’s because The Carpenter’s Son is not only gruesomely horror-leaning, but it’s based on the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which some deem heretical or even blasphemous.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
14 Nov. 2025
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Another option is to be a bit heretical.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Iconoclastic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/iconoclastic. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
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