Heretic
//ˈhɛɹɪtɪk// adj, noun
adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Someone whose beliefs are contrary to the fundamental tenets of a religion they claim to belong to.
"He semeth a sysmatyke Or els an heretike, For fayth in hym is faynte."
- 2 a person who holds religious beliefs in conflict with the dogma of the Roman Catholic Church wordnet
- 3 Someone who does not conform to generally accepted beliefs or practices. broadly
- 4 a person who holds unorthodox opinions in any field (not merely religion) wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Heretical; of or pertaining to heresy or heretics. archaic
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"She was accused of being a heretic."
Etymology
From Middle English heretyk, heretike, from Old French eretique, from Medieval Latin or Ecclesiastical Latin haereticus, from Ancient Greek αἱρετικός (hairetikós, “able to choose, factious”), itself from Ancient Greek αἱρέω (hairéō, “I choose”).
Related phrases
More for "heretic"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.