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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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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
Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nonconformists
Noun
-
At the far end of the hall, a young man in his mid-20s named Simon Bonenfant was posing like one of the dissenters, Elbridge Gerry.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
11 May 2026
-
The dissenters largely expressed the view that the next move could be higher or lower, depending on how conditions unfold.—
Jeff Cox,
CNBC,
8 May 2026
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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The new report describes a sprawling transnational criminal system in which Brazilian syndicates, Colombian guerrilla dissidents, Ecuadorian gangs and local crime families collaborate and compete simultaneously while moving drugs, gold, weapons and money across porous borders.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
13 May 2026
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One of us even faced an assassination plot in Canada and concluded he was poisoned in Russia for defending Iranian human rights lawyers and Russian dissidents.—
Irwin Cotler,
Time,
8 May 2026
Noun
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Tempo’s ascendence and corporate partnerships are indicative of a larger trend where well-heeled, corporate firms—from Robinhood to Stripe—are making their way into blockchain, traditionally the territory of anti-establishmentarians and iconoclasts.—
Jack Kubinec,
Fortune,
21 Apr. 2026
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The women in her stories feel profound, distinct uncertainty toward convention—less as iconoclasts than fierce individuals.—
Chloe Schama,
Vogue,
26 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nonconformists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonconformists. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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