nonconformists

noun

plural of nonconformist
1
as in bohemians
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

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2
as in dissenters
a person who believes, teaches, or advocates something opposed to accepted beliefs a nonconformist who was excommunicated from her church for her teachings

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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 nonconformists At least Guillén still speaks his mind on the Sox’s pre- and postgame shows, so maybe there’s hope for nonconformists after all. — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nonconformists
  1. mavericks
  2. dissenters
  3. iconoclasts
  4. dissidents
Noun
  • Carl Anka Trent Alexander-Arnold’s England career is a fascinating case study in why team sports can prefer the orthodox to the mavericks.
    — The Athletic UK Staff, New York Times, 13 May 2026
  • The confluence at Black Mountain of émigré artists like Josef and Anni Albers with homegrown mavericks like John Cage and Buckminster Fuller (who constructed his first geodesic dome there) marked an early flowering of this mode of learning, which was still in fine health decades later.
    — Christopher Benfey, The New York Review of Books, 19 Apr. 2026
Definition of mavericks
Noun
  • Three of the 12 members on the Fed's policymaking board voted in favor of a rate hike, marking the largest number of dissenters casting ballots in the same direction since 2016.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 30 July 2026
  • Felix Feather, economist at Aberdeen, said the increase in dissenters from two to three shows concerns over inflation risks are now spreading within the committee — raising the likelihood of rate hikes if inflation doesn’t ease further.
    — Hugh Leask, CNBC, 30 July 2026
Definition of dissenters
Noun
  • Primus’ Bay Area cult following snowballed into a deal with Virgin offshoot Caroline Records for their studio debut, 1990’s Frizzle Fry, which established Primus as irresistible genre iconoclasts.
    — Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork, 2 Aug. 2026
  • By the early 1990s, Eugene had earned itself a reputation as a beacon of progressive-minded irreverence, drawing a pungent mix of weirdos, iconoclasts, and freethinkers.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026
Definition of iconoclasts
Noun
  • However, the Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Iran – which laid out a long-term pathway to peace – made no mention of protesters, persecuted dissidents or human rights.
    — Mustafa Qadri, CNN Money, 28 July 2026
  • But Alicia soon begins to suspect that her daughter is one of the children grotesquely stolen from the desaparecidos, dissidents disappeared by the country’s authoritarian junta, and that her husband might be in on the repugnant scheme.
    — David Faris, TheWeek, 27 July 2026
Definition of dissidents

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nonconformists
nonconformities
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Cite this Entry

“Nonconformists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonconformists. Accessed 9 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on nonconformists

Nglish: Translation of nonconformists for Spanish Speakers

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