heretic
[noun her-i-tik; adjective her-i-tik, huh-ret-ik]
- a professed believer who maintains religious opinions contrary to those accepted by his or her church or rejects doctrines prescribed by that church.
- Roman Catholic Church. a baptized Roman Catholic who willfully and persistently rejects any article of faith.
- anyone who does not conform to an established attitude, doctrine, or principle.
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Origin of heretic
1300–50; Middle English heretik < Middle French heretique < Late Latin haereticus < Greek hairetikós able to choose (Late Greek: heretical), equivalent to hairet(ós) that may be taken (verbal adjective of haireîn to choose) + -ikos -ic
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for heretic
Contemporary Examples
Her latest book, Heretic: The Case for a Muslim Reformation, will be published in April by HarperCollins.
In a 2009 profile of the right-wing firebrand, The New Yorker called Savage “a heretic among heretics.”
So how is she going to live in this society where you die for being a heretic?
The Heretic Andrew Ferguson, The Weekly Standard Who is Thomas Nagel and why are so many of his fellow academics condemning him?
As is so often the case in religious history, it is the heretic who shows the weakness of the believer.
Historical Examples
And first, Mr. Blindman, the foreman, said: I see clearly that this man is a heretic.
BunyanJames Anthony Froude
Doctors of divinity said, "He is a heretic; he contradicts the Bible."
People of the only true faith cannot bear to be governed by a heretic nation.
Ireland as It IsRobert John Buckley (AKA R.J.B.)
So long as a heretic power is at the head, so long Ireland will be discontented.
Ireland as It IsRobert John Buckley (AKA R.J.B.)
Heretic he may be, but he has the trust of Ramon Rotil, and of me.
The Treasure TrailMarah Ellis Ryan
heretic
- mainly RC Church a person who maintains beliefs contrary to the established teachings of the Church
- a person who holds unorthodox opinions in any field
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for heretic
n.
mid-14c., from Old French eretique (14c., Modern French hérétique), from Church Latin haereticus, from Greek hairetikos "able to choose," the verbal adjective of hairein (see heresy).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
heretic
One who challenges the doctrines of an established church (see also established church). Martin Luther was proclaimed a heretic for rejecting many of the tenets of the Roman Catholic Church.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.