variants also heretic
as in dissident
deviating from commonly accepted beliefs or practices the belief that women should be allowed to have careers outside the home was once considered heretical

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of heretical Join this tactical, practical, and heretical discussion between Meredith Whittaker, President of Signal and leading advocate for secure communication, and author, professor, host of the Remarkable People podcast, and Chief Evangelist of Canva Guy Kawasaki. Matt Grobar, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2025 Rafinesque’s erratic and eccentric behavior, as part heretic and part adventurer, cements him as a figure of forgotten legend. Fran Hoepfner, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2024 They’d been hidden there for 1,600 years because they were banned as heretical by the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in the fourth century, although they’d been widely read before that. Sophie Hills, Christian Science Monitor, 28 Mar. 2025 Of course, this being the Warhammer 40k universe, players might be just as likely to make secret alliances with these heretical creatures and pick up one of the archetypes in these books with their Game Master’s permission. Rob Wieland, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for heretical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heretical
Adjective
  • He’d been allowed through the security checkpoint to attend a session given by a professor at the university, a Tunisian dissident and political exile, a specialist in the liberation movements of the Global South.
    David Bezmozgis, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2025
  • Rumors about an investigation against He first surfaced among the Chinese dissident community following China’s annual political meetings last month.
    Nectar Gan, CNN Money, 4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • In the dissenting view, the star collapses to the edge of the event horizon and then hovers there, or rebounds and explodes.
    Corey S. Powell, Discover Magazine, 26 Feb. 2015
  • The document runs to more than a hundred and fifty pages, and for each question there are affirmative and dissenting studies, as well as some that indicate mixed results.
    The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 3 June 2022
Adjective
  • The mill embraces the beauty of imperfection and asymmetry in Chaos Aesthetics, a trend concept that favors expressive textures, unconventional finishes and rich tactile experiences.
    Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 17 Apr. 2025
  • The generational gap in honesty found in the survey comes amid a broader trend of unconventional job-search behaviors among younger candidates, including ghosting employers and abandoning the hiring process midway.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • An out-there premise, for sure, but one that has so far worked out better than anyone had a right to expect.
    Lissete Lanuza Sáenz, StyleCaster, 12 Mar. 2025
  • Paired with these out-there visuals are rather poignant subtitles as Noah ponders time and grief, ultimately leading him to embrace the present and enjoy every moment with the doll before losing track of him.
    Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Heretical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heretical. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

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