heterodox
adjective
het·ero·dox ˈhe-tə-rə-ˌdäks 
ˈhe-trə-
1
: contrary to or different from an acknowledged standard, a traditional form, or an established religion : unorthodox, unconventional
heterodox ideas
2
: holding unorthodox opinions or doctrines
a heterodox religious sect
Did you know?
It's true: individuals often see other people's ideas as unconventional while regarding their own as beyond reproach. The antonyms orthodox and heterodox developed from the same root, Greek doxa, which means "opinion." Heterodox derives from doxa plus heter-, a combining form meaning "other" or "different"; orthodox pairs doxa with orth-, meaning "correct" or "straight."
Synonyms
- dissentient
- dissenting
- dissident
- heretical
- heretic
- iconoclastic
- maverick
- nonconformist
- nonorthodox
- out-there
- unconventional
- unorthodox
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
a Christian clergyman with a very heterodox opinion on the divinity of Jesus her heterodox approach to teaching science initially met with some resistance from her peers
Recent Examples on the Web One of the reasons inflation got out of control in the 1970s is that policy makers had heterodox theories about its cause, such as powerful corporations and unions. 
Greg Ip, WSJ, 8 June 2022 Someone like a Leondra Kruger is known as a pretty heterodox person, someone who has oftentimes voted with conservatives on the California Supreme Court. ABC News, 30 Jan. 2022 Conservatives get nervous about every Republican nominee; Democrats have not sent a genuinely heterodox justice to the Court since Byron White was appointed by John F. Kennedy. The Editors, National Review, 26 Jan. 2022 Famous people and ordinary citizens alike have been fired from jobs, stripped of opportunities, and banished to a social-pariah wilderness for transgressing new language conventions or for expressing heterodox views. Harry Bruinius, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Nov. 2021 In a recent piece for The Atlantic, the progressive but frequently heterodox writer Caitlin Flanagan channeled her inner Marxist for an attack on American private schools. Graham Hillard, National Review, 15 Apr. 2021 The group has a longstanding commitment to ignoring the macroeconomic breakthroughs of heterodox economic thinkers in the tradition of John Maynard Keynes. Alex Yablon, The New Republic, 4 Mar. 2021 For this reason, American conservatives were initially skeptical of the heterodox British philosopher. Nate Hochman, National Review, 18 Dec. 2020 In light of episodes like these, a toxic environment, self-censoring and publication bias combine to explain the dearth of skeptical or heterodox findings and views regarding ways to control COVID-19. Jeanne Lenzer, Scientific American, 30 Nov. 2020 See More
Greg Ip, WSJ, 8 June 2022 Someone like a Leondra Kruger is known as a pretty heterodox person, someone who has oftentimes voted with conservatives on the California Supreme Court. ABC News, 30 Jan. 2022 Conservatives get nervous about every Republican nominee; Democrats have not sent a genuinely heterodox justice to the Court since Byron White was appointed by John F. Kennedy. The Editors, National Review, 26 Jan. 2022 Famous people and ordinary citizens alike have been fired from jobs, stripped of opportunities, and banished to a social-pariah wilderness for transgressing new language conventions or for expressing heterodox views. Harry Bruinius, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Nov. 2021 In a recent piece for The Atlantic, the progressive but frequently heterodox writer Caitlin Flanagan channeled her inner Marxist for an attack on American private schools. Graham Hillard, National Review, 15 Apr. 2021 The group has a longstanding commitment to ignoring the macroeconomic breakthroughs of heterodox economic thinkers in the tradition of John Maynard Keynes. Alex Yablon, The New Republic, 4 Mar. 2021 For this reason, American conservatives were initially skeptical of the heterodox British philosopher. Nate Hochman, National Review, 18 Dec. 2020 In light of episodes like these, a toxic environment, self-censoring and publication bias combine to explain the dearth of skeptical or heterodox findings and views regarding ways to control COVID-19. Jeanne Lenzer, Scientific American, 30 Nov. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
Late Latin heterodoxus, from Greek heterodoxos, from heter- + doxa opinion — more at doxology
First Known Use
circa 1650, in the meaning defined at sense 1
heterodox
adjective
1
as in dissident
deviating from commonly accepted beliefs or practices a Christian clergyman with a very heterodox opinion on the divinity of Jesus Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- dissident
- heretical
- unconventional
- dissenting
- heretic
- iconoclastic
- nonconformist
- maverick
- dissentient
- unorthodox
- separatist
- nontraditional
- out-there
- apostate
- renegade
- sectarian
- schismatic
- schismatical
- nonorthodox
- freethinking
- defecting
- free-spirited
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- orthodox
- conventional
- conformist
- conforming
2
as in unconventional
not rigidly following established form, custom, or rules her heterodox approach to teaching science initially met with some resistance from her peers Synonyms & Similar Words
- unconventional
- informal
- unorthodox
- irregular
- unofficial
- unauthorized
- unceremonious
- casual
- ultracasual
- relaxed
- familiar
- offhand
- easygoing
- free and easy
- lax
- loose
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- orthodox
- conventional
- regular
- formal
- routine
- ceremonial
- correct
- proper
- rigid
- ceremonious
- stiff
- restrained
- decorous
- stuffy
- inhibited
- constrained
- uptight