a person who refuses to conform, as to established customs, attitudes, or ideas.
(often initial capital letter) a Protestant in England who is not a member of the Church of England; dissenter.
First recorded in 1610–20; non- + conformist
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.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Founded in the 1830s, or maybe earlier, it’s been a private arts club, a home for nonconformist thinkers and drinkers since gaslights burned.
From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2026
On that lesson alone, every company should have taken a nonconformist to lunch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026
I’m refreshed by how nonconformist the format of the record is.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2025
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
There always existed King’s College, opulently nonconformist and clearly capable of absorbing him without any loss of his or its character.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
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
Nonconformist strands of hair attach to her mouth at a staff meeting where she suggests that no true Texan would take the kind of “cowboy-cation” the show plans to feature.
From New York Times ● Dec. 21, 2022
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
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
He has never been in a Nonconformist place of worship, and he will certainly come if he is still in town.
From Peter Binney A Novel by Marshall, Archibald
Maybe modern art doesn’t lead toward utopia, but there’s an important place in our world for nonconformists.
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
His solution was also borrowed from Toynbee: the notion of the “creative minority” — small groups of nonconformists with the capacity to reinvigorate an entire culture.
From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2022
And yet, being complicated nonconformists, they weren’t uniformly of the left.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2022
The removal of the remaining disabilities such as those imposed by the Test and Corporation Acts repealed in 1828, has no special bearing on Baptists more than on other nonconformists.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 3 "Banks" to "Bassoon" by Various
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.
