NONCONFORMISTS Synonyms: 54 Similar and Opposite Words

nonconformists

noun

plural of nonconformist

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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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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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

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

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

As Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet premier and promised new openness with a policy of glasnost, a slow thaw would begin toward free speech, human rights, the release of political dissidents and relaxed restrictions on emigration.

— Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Aug. 2026
The deportation of Iranians to a country whose government has a pattern of violent persecution against women, religious minorities and political dissidents has drawn significant criticism from human rights activists.

— CBS News, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of dissidents

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nonconformist

nonconformists

nonconformities

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“Nonconformists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonconformists. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of nonconformists

noun

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