unorthodox

1 deviating from commonly accepted beliefs or practices a time when people with unorthodox religious views were banished from the colony Synonyms dissentient, dissenting, dissident, heterodox, iconoclastic, maverick, nonconformist, nonorthodox, out-there, unconventional, hereticalRelated 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 raised by an aunt, whose unorthodox parenting practices made for a strange but fun childhood Synonyms broad-minded, nonconventional, nonorthodox, nontraditional, open-minded, progressive, radical, unconventional, liberalRelated 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 an unorthodox but effective procedure for opening a wine bottle without a corkscrew Synonyms heterodox, irregular, unceremonious, unconventional, informalRelated 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