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• nonconformist
  nonconformist

  noun

  a person who refuses to conform, as to established customs, attitudes, or ideas.
• Nonconformist
  Nonconformist

  noun

  a member of a Protestant denomination that dissents from an Established Church, esp the Church of England

nonconformist

American  

[non-kuhn-fawr-mist] / ˌnɒn kənˈfɔr mɪst /

noun

• nonconformists
  plural

1. a person who refuses to conform, as to established customs, attitudes, or ideas.

   Synonyms:

   loner, individualist, dissident, dissenter

2. (often initial capital letter) a Protestant in England who is not a member of the Church of England; dissenter.

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Nonconformist ¹ British  

/ ˌnɒnkənˈfɔːmɪst /

noun

1. a member of a Protestant denomination that dissents from an Established Church, esp the Church of England

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or denoting Nonconformists

nonconformist ² British  

/ ˌnɒnkənˈfɔːmɪst /

noun

1. a person who does not conform to generally accepted patterns of behaviour or thought

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adjective

1. of or characterized by behaviour that does not conform to generally accepted patterns

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Nonconformity
  noun
• nonconformism
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• nonconformists
  plural

Etymology

Origin of nonconformist

First recorded in 1610–20; non- + conformist

Explanation

A nonconformist is someone who doesn’t conform to other people’s ideas of how things should be. Activists, artists, street performers, your wacky uncle Marvin — anyone who marches to the beat of a different drummer is a nonconformist. Nonconformist is one of those words that has both a noun and an adjective form. The noun describes someone who acts apart from the masses, and the adjective describes people or other things that have those same nonconformist qualities. If your actions mark you as a nonconformist, chances are you'll take a nonconformist approach when it comes to planning your next vacation.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nonconformist Nonconformist nonconformists

For Valerie, the price is bouncing between cheap community houses and sleeping on the street, where the bleak conditions further mold Valerie’s nonconformist personality.

From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026

Elon Musk has made a career, and billions of dollars, out of being a nonconformist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026

But Tyler, ever the nonconformist, released his eighth studio album at 06:00 EST on Monday, three days after the week's chart tracking began.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2024

If you want to turn heads and keep warm this fall, look to the ultimate nonconformist, Rick Owens, for a chic solution with this dust gray knit bodysuit.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2024

I couldn’t imagine a less hospitable place for a nineteen-year-old nonconformist.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz

World War One, combined with Nonconformist disapproval of drink, provided a "convenient excuse" to close a few down but the pubs were still thriving late into the 20th Century.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2023

In an article on "Hymns in a Man's Life," Lawrence says the "battle-cry of a stout soul" he hears and admires in English Nonconformist hymns is "far, far from any militarism or gun-fighting."

From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2021

Since James Mason’s film, the abandoned synagogue, which was a Nonconformist chapel in the 18th and 19th centuries, has become a mosque.

From New York Times ● Oct. 15, 2014

Directors of the Nonconformist art museum pride themselves on their nongovernment, noncommercial status, and wear both descriptions like a badge of honor.

From New York Times ● Apr. 8, 2011

The following extracts, from a communication by a "correspondent of the North China Herald," republished in the Nonconformist of Nov. 14th, 1860, give some authentic particulars respecting the Shanghae massacre of Ti-pings.

From Ti-Ping Tien-Kwoh The History of the Ti-Ping Revolution (Volume I) by Augustus F. Lindley

The artist and buyer were nonconformists, jabbing at, well, something.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026

At the same time, the conception of Poe the writer seems to tap into a cultural affection for outsiders, nonconformists and underdogs who ultimately prove their worth.

From Salon ● Jan. 21, 2023

And yet, being complicated nonconformists, they weren’t uniformly of the left.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2022

Its cinematic specifics and pace make the reader feel the bravery and solidarity among these nonconformists who risked ridicule, ostracism and sometimes prison in trying to become their authentic selves.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2022

We will decline the word to prevent exceptions, which, if casually slipping from our pen, the reader knoweth that only nonconformists are intended,” lib. ix. p.

From Calamities and Quarrels of Authors by Isaac Disraeli

Related Words

• dissenter
• dissident
• free spirit
• individualist
• maverick