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heretic
5 dictionary results for: heretic
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
her·e·tic       [n. her-i-tik; adj. her-i-tik, huh-ret-ik] Pronunciation Key
–noun
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.
–adjective
4.heretical.

[Origin: 1300–50; ME heretik < MF heretique < LL haereticus < Gk hairetikós able to choose (LGk: heretical), equiv. to hairet(ós) that may be taken (verbal adj. of haireǐn to choose) + -ikos -ic]

1. apostate, backslider, recreant, protestant. 3. dissenter, skeptic, freethinker.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
her·e·tic       (hěr'ĭ-tĭk)  Pronunciation Key 
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.]

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
heretic

noun
1. a person who holds religious beliefs in conflict with the dogma of the Roman Catholic Church 
2. a person who holds unorthodox opinions in any field (not merely religion) 

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
heretic

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.


Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Heretic

Her"e*tic\, n. [L. haereticus, Gr. ? able to choose, heretical, fr. ? to take, choose: cf. F. h['e]r['e]tique. See Heresy.]

1. One who holds to a heresy; one who believes some doctrine contrary to the established faith or prevailing religion.

A man that is an heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject. --Titus iii. 10.

2. (R. C. Ch.) One who having made a profession of Christian belief, deliberately and pertinaciously refuses to believe one or more of the articles of faith "determined by the authority of the universal church." --Addis & Arnold.

Syn: Heretic, Schismatic, Sectarian.

Usage: A heretic is one whose errors are doctrinal, and usually of a malignant character, tending to subvert the true faith. A schismatic is one who creates a schism, or division in the church, on points of faith, discipline, practice, etc., usually for the sake of personal aggrandizement. A sectarian is one who originates or is an ardent adherent and advocate of a sect, or distinct organization, which separates from the main body of believers.

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