nonconformity

[non-kuh n-fawr-mi-tee]

See more synonyms for nonconformity on Thesaurus.com

noun

failure or refusal to conform, as with established customs, attitudes, or ideas.
lack of conformity or agreement.
(often initial capital letter) refusal to conform to the Church of England.

Geology. an unconformity that separates crystalline rocks, either igneous or metamorphic, from sedimentary rocks.

Origin of nonconformity

First recorded in 1610–20; non- + conformity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for non-conformity

individuality, boldness, daring, ingenuity, freshness, brilliance, cleverness, resourcefulness, imagination, innovation, inventiveness, spirit, dissent, uprising, insurrection, revolution, insurgency, malfunction, abnormality, anomaly

Examples from the Web for non-conformity

Historical Examples of non-conformity

“And that price of non-conformity is too high,” he completed steadily.
A Breath of Prairie and other stories
Will Lillibridge
Prosecutions for non-conformity were enforced with the utmost severity.
The Cathedral Church of Canterbury [2nd ed.].
Hartley Withers
The foibles of their youth are still to be traced in faulting and non-conformity.
In the Open
Stanton Davis Kirkham
He removed to Boston in May, 1644, being probably one of those who were driven away from Virginia for non-conformity.
History of the Colony and Ancient Dominion of Virginia
Charles Campbell
He was ordered before the Bishop, Dec. 12, 1631, to answer for his non-conformity.
The Simple Cobler of Aggawam in America
Theodore de la Guard

British Dictionary definitions for non-conformity

nonconformity

noun

failure or refusal to conform
absence of agreement or harmony

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

Word Origin and History for non-conformity

also nonconformity, 1610s, coined in English from non- + conformity. Originally of Church of England clergymen who refused to conform on certain ceremonies.