heretic

[her-i-tik, her-i-tik, huh-ret-ik]

noun

1. a professed believer who maintains religious opinions contrary to those accepted by their church or rejects doctrines prescribed by that church.

   Synonyms: Protestant, recreant, backslider, apostate

2. Roman Catholic Church.,  a baptized Roman Catholic who willfully and persistently rejects any article of faith.

3. anyone who does not conform to an established attitude, doctrine, or principle.

   Synonyms: freethinker, skeptic, dissenter

adjective

1. heretical.

heretic

/ ˈhɛrətɪk, hɪˈrɛtɪkəl /

noun

1. RC Church a person who maintains beliefs contrary to the established teachings of the Church

2. a person who holds unorthodox opinions in any field

heretic

1. One who challenges the doctrines of an established church (see also established church). Martin Luther was proclaimed a heretic for rejecting many of the tenets of the Roman Catholic Church.

Other Word Forms

• semiheretic adjective
• heretically adverb
• heretical adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of heretic¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English heretik from Middle French heretique from Late Latin haereticus from Greek hairetikós “able to choose” ( Late Greek: “heretical”), equivalent to hairet(ós) “that may be taken” (verbal adjective of haireîn “to choose”) + -ikos -ic

Example Sentences

Instead, they typically reposition themselves as the immovable axis of correct values, and denounce their former ideological fellow travelers as heretics who profaned true conservatism.

From Salon

They operated their own militia which defended their areas against attacks by Sunni Muslim extremist groups who considered Druze heretics, while they were left alone by pro-Assad forces.

From BBC

Instead, he’s weaponizing bigotry to remake the U.S. military as a scorched-earth, hetero-Christian outfit ready to stamp out liberal heretics here and abroad.

From Los Angeles Times

A close watch of the videos suggests people looked fine in their former lives as heretics.

From Salon

I’m not even allowed to be here because I’m a heretic!

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dissenter 
• schismatic