definitions

iconoclast

[ ahy-kon-uh-klast ]
/ aɪˈkɒn əˌklæst /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR iconoclast ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who attacks cherished beliefs, traditional institutions, etc., as being based on error or superstition.
a breaker or destroyer of images, especially those set up for religious veneration.

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RELATED WORDS

unbeliever, questioner, dissenter, heretic, radical, dissident, nonbeliever, critic, rebel, revolutionist, cynic, sceptic, ruiner, non-conformist

Nearby words

iconic, iconic memory, iconium, icono-, iconoclasm, iconoclast, iconoclastic, iconographic, iconography, iconolatry, iconology

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

Related forms

i·con·o·clas·tic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for iconoclast

British Dictionary definitions for iconoclast

iconoclast

/ (aɪˈkɒnəˌklæst) /

noun

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

Derived Forms

iconoclastic, adjectiveiconoclastically, adverb

Word Origin for iconoclast

C16: from Late Latin iconoclastes, from Late Greek eikonoklastes, from eikōn icon + klastēs breaker
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