as in dissident
deviating from commonly accepted beliefs or practices
a cattle-ranching family that took some time in getting used to their daughter's nonconformist adoption of vegetarianism
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in maverick
a person who does not conform to generally accepted standards or customs
always the nonconformist, she insisted on wearing red on St. Patrick's Day and not green like everyone else
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dissenter
a person who believes, teaches, or advocates something opposed to accepted beliefs
a nonconformist who was excommunicated from her church for her teachings
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of nonconformist
Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 18 Oct. 2022
The uniform and the nonconformist.
—Rachel Tashjian, Harper's BAZAAR, 9 Aug. 2022
Ye, however, was widely known to be both a perfectionist and a nonconformist.
—New York Times, 25 July 2022
The Return of Tanya Tucker is a fittingly unconventional portrait of a nonconformist.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2022
See All Example Sentences for nonconformist
Noun
In her breakthrough piece, Heretic, Graham is dressed in white and rebuffed and rebuked by a group of 12 women dressed in black: the punishment of the nonconformist.
—Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 18 Oct. 2022
The uniform and the nonconformist.
—Rachel Tashjian, Harper's BAZAAR, 9 Aug. 2022
Ye, however, was widely known to be both a perfectionist and a nonconformist.
—New York Times, 25 July 2022
The Return of Tanya Tucker is a fittingly unconventional portrait of a nonconformist.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2022
See All Example Sentences for nonconformist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nonconformist
Adjective
-
This situation has raised the question once again as to whether the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) should create a special category for dissident filmmakers who are barred from representing their countries.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
10 Sep. 2025
-
In Northern Ireland, dissident IRA groups launched attacks even after the Good Friday Agreement was concluded in 1998, which formally ended the Troubles.—
Alpaslan Ozerdem,
The Conversation,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
One is Shinjiro Koizumi, the 44-year-old son of maverick former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who led the country from 2001 to 2006.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
8 Sep. 2025
-
In the early 70s, the British maverick had already made a name for himself with Deliverance, which was the kind of artsy genre flick championed by a New Hollywood whose directors owed more to the European arthouse than to classic studio fare.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Yet the unit also targets dissenters and those, including various clans, some backed by Israel, that dare to defy Hamas’s rule.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
-
If Homelander's takeover of the United States government and rounding up of his chief dissenters took place around Inauguration Day in January, Godolkin University's fall semester kicks off around the end of August.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
There is immense comfort in shared failure; there is immense career risk in an unconventional success that cannot be easily explained to a board.—
Benjamin D. Summers,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
And at last week’s Davis Cup qualifiers, an even weirder extension of the unconventional serve made a high-profile appearance.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The polar figures of 16th-century Italian choral music, Palestrina, the Apollonian master of elegant counterpoint, and Gesualdo, the violent renegade of plangent harmonies, meet on the same program presented by Miller Theater.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
-
As a result, work in the Texas House, including the passage of several bills unrelated to redistricting, ground to a halt and arrest warrants were issued for the renegade lawmakers, though these couldn't be enforced outside Texas.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Aug. 2025
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
Noun
-
For Mimi Pond, the desire to do a book about the Mitford sisters – six larger-than-life British eccentrics (and one brother) who created a stir in both British and American culture – was obvious.—
Erik Pedersen,
Oc Register,
5 Sep. 2025
-
For decades, sovereign citizens largely flew under the radar in Australia as relatively harmless eccentrics with a special interest in conspiracy theories.—
Hilary Whiteman,
CNN Money,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nonconformist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonconformist. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share