iconoclast

American  

[ahy-kon-uh-klast] / aɪˈkɒn əˌklæst /

noun

1. a person who attacks cherished beliefs, traditional institutions, etc., as being based on error or superstition.

   Synonyms:

   radical, dissenter, rebel, nonconformist

2. a breaker or destroyer of images, especially those set up for religious veneration.

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iconoclast British  

/ aɪˈkɒnəˌklæst /

noun

1. a person who attacks established or traditional concepts, principles, laws, etc

2. 1. a destroyer of religious images or sacred objects

   2. an adherent of the heretical movement within the Greek Orthodox Church from 725 to 842 _ad , which aimed at the destruction of icons and religious images

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Other Word Forms

• iconoclastic adjective
• iconoclastically adverb

Etymology

Origin of iconoclast

1590–1600; < Medieval Latin īconoclastēs < Medieval Greek eikonoklástēs, equivalent to Greek eikono- icono- + -klastēs breaker, equivalent to klas- (variant stem of klân to break) + -tēs agent noun suffix

Explanation

Are you always challenging the establishment? Or provoking popular thought by attacking traditions and institutions? Then you're definitely an iconoclast. To be called an iconoclast today is usually kind of cool — they're rugged individualists, bold thinkers who don't give a hoot what tradition calls for. But back in medieval Greece, the iconoclasts had a more thuggish reputation. Stemming from the Greek words eikon, meaning "image," and klastes, meaning "breaker," an iconoclast was someone who destroyed religious sculptures and paintings.

Example Sentences

So much so that we have names for the type: maverick, individualist, iconoclast, dissenter, rebel, freethinker.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 18, 2026

Williams wants to impress upon folks that he is an iconoclast, and it comes off as smarmy.

From Salon • Jan. 10, 2025

He would be sharing that evening’s program with five other choreographers, including the Baroque dancer Catherine Turocy, the Merce Cunningham acolyte Kenneth King and the postmodern-ballet iconoclast Donald Byrd.

From New York Times • May 7, 2024

Founder Dave Gold was a SoCal business iconoclast on the level of In-N-Out founder Harry Snyder and cafeteria magnate Clifford Clifton, who made sure that the least among us could eat and shop like kings.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2024

But Wagner wasn't the only composer who was guilty of creating unnecessary clutter in the eyes of an iconoclast like Satie.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall