heretic

American  

[her-i-tik, her-i-tik, huh-ret-ik] / ˈhɛr ɪ tɪk, ˈhɛr ɪ tɪk, həˈrɛt ɪk /

noun

1. a professed believer who maintains religious opinions contrary to those accepted by their church or rejects doctrines prescribed by that church.

   Synonyms:

   Protestant, recreant, backslider, apostate

2. Roman Catholic Church. a baptized Roman Catholic who willfully and persistently rejects any article of faith.

3. anyone who does not conform to an established attitude, doctrine, or principle.

   Synonyms:

   freethinker, skeptic, dissenter

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adjective

1. heretical.

heretic British  

/ ˈhɛrətɪk, hɪˈrɛtɪkəl /

noun

1. RC Church a person who maintains beliefs contrary to the established teachings of the Church

2. a person who holds unorthodox opinions in any field

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heretic Cultural  

1. 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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Other Word Forms

• heretical adjective
• heretically adverb
• semiheretic adjective

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

This was a genius-level insight that caused Thiel to be hounded out of San Francisco as a heretic.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 16, 2025

And he doesn't necessarily hope to, he said, which "makes me a bit of a heretic."

From Salon • Aug. 14, 2024

Mr. Dalsjo of the Swedish Defense Research Agency, calling himself a heretic, cautions in a recent paper that this threat is real but may be overblown, especially after Russia’s losses in Ukraine.

From New York Times • May 31, 2023

“To pose these questions doesn’t mean being an enemy or a heretic but a practical” person, Meloni said in a 70-minute speech.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 25, 2022

Yet Nicholas was not declared a heretic, and the church didn’t react to the new idea.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Related Words

• dissenter
• schismatic