unconventional

1 deviating from commonly accepted beliefs or practices the Shakers acquired their name because of their unconventional practice of dancing with shaking movements during worship Synonyms dissentient, dissenting, dissident, heterodox, iconoclastic, maverick, nonconformist, nonorthodox, out-there, heretical, unorthodoxRelated Words free-spirited, freethinking, nontraditional; apostate, defecting, renegade; schismatic (also schismatical), sectarian, separatistAntonyms conforming, conformist, conventional, orthodox

2 not bound by traditional ways or beliefs had unconventional opinions on the raising of children Synonyms broad-minded, nonconventional, nonorthodox, nontraditional, open-minded, progressive, radical, liberal, unorthodoxRelated Words advanced, contemporary, modern; forbearing, indulgent, large-minded, lenient, permissive, tolerant; extreme; impartial, objective, unbiasedNear Antonyms hard, rigid, strict; doctrinal, dogmatic (also dogmatical); bigoted, blinkered, intolerant, narrow-minded; reactionary, unreconstructedAntonyms conservative, conventional, hidebound, nonprogressive, old-fashioned, orthodox, stodgy, traditional

3 not rigidly following established form, custom, or rules young, creative people who lead unconventional but fulfilling lifestyles Synonyms heterodox, irregular, unceremonious, informal, unorthodoxRelated Words unauthorized, unofficial; casual, easygoing, familiar, free and easy, lax, loose, offhand, relaxed, ultracasualNear Antonyms correct, decorous, proper; constrained, inhibited, restrained, rigid, stiff, stuffy, uptightAntonyms ceremonial, ceremonious, conventional, formal, orthodox, regular, routine