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heretic

[ noun her-i-tik; adjective her-i-tik, huh-ret-ik ]
/ noun ˈhɛr ɪ tɪk; adjective ˈhɛr ɪ tɪk, həˈrɛt ɪk /
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noun
a professed believer who maintains religious opinions contrary to those accepted by their 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.
adjective
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Origin of heretic

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English heretik from Middle French heretique from Late Latin haereticus from Greek hairetikós “able to choose” (Late Greek: “heretical”), equivalent to hairet(ós) “that may be taken” (verbal adjective of haireîn “to choose”) + -ikos -ic

OTHER WORDS FROM heretic

sem·i·her·e·tic, adjective, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use heretic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for heretic

heretic
/ (ˈhɛrətɪk) /

noun
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

Derived forms of heretic

heretical (hɪˈrɛtɪkəl), adjectiveheretically, adverb
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

Cultural definitions for heretic

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.

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.
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