as in maverick
a person who does not conform to generally accepted standards or customs
something of a lone ranger among anthropologists, she does her research without either a lending hand or an eye toward trendy topics
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Recent Examples of lone ranger
As Kissinger understood, even lone rangers need friends.
—
Margaret MacMillan, Foreign Affairs, 21 July 2025
And while his rivals have landed serious blows against him, he’s embraced the tabloid-style frenzy at each of those junctures, incorporating them into his narrative identity as an underappreciated lone ranger constantly battling the world.
—TIME, 7 May 2024
Look, first of all, Netanyahu is not a lone ranger.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2024
Each bike in the lineup is powered by the same 1,203 cc V-twin that pumps out 120 hp, but the new year will see new styling and colors for the FTR Sport, as well as a few choice performance modifications to help America’s lone ranger compete against the aforementioned competition.
—Peter Jackson, Robb Report, 29 Nov. 2022
The desperate situation usually has an alternative, if only the lone ranger would tolerate his own vulnerability and fallibility.
—Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic, 19 Apr. 2021
Kaneland pitcher Emilee Erickson, wearing a protective face mask in Friday’s Class 3A state semifinal, was no lone ranger.
—Rick Armstrong, Aurora Beacon-News, 9 June 2018
Hanes doesn't believe J. Edgar Hoover or the Federal Bureau of Investigation was involved, nor a group of lone rangers.
—Ivana Hrynkiw, AL.com, 4 Apr. 2018
But don’t mistake him for a lone ranger.
—Dan Hurley, Discover Magazine, 19 Dec. 2016
Margaret MacMillan, Foreign Affairs, 21 July 2025
And while his rivals have landed serious blows against him, he’s embraced the tabloid-style frenzy at each of those junctures, incorporating them into his narrative identity as an underappreciated lone ranger constantly battling the world.
—TIME, 7 May 2024
Look, first of all, Netanyahu is not a lone ranger.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2024
Each bike in the lineup is powered by the same 1,203 cc V-twin that pumps out 120 hp, but the new year will see new styling and colors for the FTR Sport, as well as a few choice performance modifications to help America’s lone ranger compete against the aforementioned competition.
—Peter Jackson, Robb Report, 29 Nov. 2022
The desperate situation usually has an alternative, if only the lone ranger would tolerate his own vulnerability and fallibility.
—Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic, 19 Apr. 2021
Kaneland pitcher Emilee Erickson, wearing a protective face mask in Friday’s Class 3A state semifinal, was no lone ranger.
—Rick Armstrong, Aurora Beacon-News, 9 June 2018
Hanes doesn't believe J. Edgar Hoover or the Federal Bureau of Investigation was involved, nor a group of lone rangers.
—Ivana Hrynkiw, AL.com, 4 Apr. 2018
But don’t mistake him for a lone ranger.
—Dan Hurley, Discover Magazine, 19 Dec. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lone ranger
Noun
-
Figgis interviews Coppola several times, also speaking with key cast members (especially LaBeouf and a cheeky Aubrey Plaza), as well as a few long-time collaborators like George Lucas, who doesn’t expect anything less from his old friend and fellow Hollywood maverick.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Aug. 2025
-
Thinkers, surveyors, and religious mavericks, the House of Pynchon had settled into middle-class respectability by the time this Thomas Ruggles Pynchon was born.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
These are fairly simple and widely understood forms of doping—the kind of thing a lone wolf could pull off.—
Alex Hutchinson,
Outside Online,
25 July 2025
-
Infused into his mundane, bluesy trap music is a lone wolf spirit that comes from being an only child whose father was incarcerated for most of his childhood and whose mother worked into the night.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
18 July 2025
Noun
-
The spectacular failure of aspiring enfant terrible David Hogg this week in the first test of his youth movement in an Arizona House primary would seem to point in the same direction, but look closer.—
Chris Stirewalt,
The Hill,
18 July 2025
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Blockbuster: Caravaggio 2025, Palazzo Barberini Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio—known far and wide as Caravaggio—was quite the enfant terrible.—
Julie Belcove,
Robb Report,
10 June 2025
Noun
-
Anna is a free spirit who marches to the beat of her own drum.—
Lisa Stardust,
People.com,
8 Aug. 2025
-
Ultimately, though, Kim chose to give his rose to Faith, a free spirit and fellow Washingtonian.—
Kristen Baldwin,
EW.com,
5 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lone ranger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lone%20ranger. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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