iconoclast
Americannoun
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a person who attacks cherished beliefs, traditional institutions, etc., as being based on error or superstition.
- Synonyms:
- radical, dissenter, rebel, nonconformist
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a breaker or destroyer of images, especially those set up for religious veneration.
noun
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a person who attacks established or traditional concepts, principles, laws, etc
-
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a destroyer of religious images or sacred objects
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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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing iconoclast
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Among those paying tribute was rock iconoclast Patti Smith.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Conjuring fossils, keepsakes, toys and relics, these nostalgic, tactile miniatures suggest that Duchamp, the consummate iconoclast, may have believed in the aesthetic, transformational power of art after all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
There was a lengthy interview with the subject herself, replete with quotes meant to amplify her image as an iconoclast and a force to be reckoned with.
From Salon ● Oct. 6, 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
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
