iconoclastic

[ahy-kon-uh-klas-tik]

adjective

1. attacking or ignoring cherished beliefs and long-held traditions, etc., as being based on error, superstition, or lack of creativity.

   an iconoclastic architect whose buildings are like monumental sculptures.

2. breaking or destroying images, especially those set up for religious veneration.

Other Word Forms

• iconoclastically adverb
• noniconoclastic adjective
• noniconoclastically adverb
• uniconoclastic adjective
• uniconoclastically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of iconoclastic¹

First recorded in 1640–45; iconoclast + -ic

Example Sentences

And yet, true to his core as an iconoclastic dreamer willing to risk everything for the sake of discovering the unknown, he still says, “It was worth it.”

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“It’s always been full of individuals who are a little iconoclastic and don’t do things the normal way.”

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His voice has an on-trend soothing quality, lending itself to music that is iconoclastic yet classic — rooted in his early influences, especially American R&B and soul, and interspersed with Japanese elements.

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Such is the rub you may find yourself in with iconoclastic Spanish director Albert Serra’s “Afternoons of Solitude,” his first nonfiction film, an unflinching gaze at bullfighting, its hushed, ornate rituals and gruesome realities.

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As a director, he enjoys boldly iconoclastic strokes whether staging new work, such as Jeremy O. Harris’ “Slave Play,” or classic drama, such as Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun.”

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Related Words

• irreverent