[n. her-i-tik; adj. her-i-tik, huh-ret-ik] 
| 1. | a professed believer who maintains religious opinions contrary to those accepted by his or her church or rejects doctrines prescribed by that church. |
| 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. |
| 4. | heretical. |
| her·e·tic (hěr'ĭ-tĭk) n. A person who holds controversial opinions, especially one who publicly dissents from the officially accepted dogma of the Roman Catholic Church. adj. Heretical. [Middle English heretik, from Old French heretique, from Late Latin haereticus, from Greek hairetikos, able to choose, factious, from hairetos, chosen, from haireisthai, to choose; see heresy.] |
One who challenges the doctrines of an established church. Martin Luther was proclaimed a heretic for rejecting many of the tenets of the Roman Catholic Church.
