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iconoclast

[ ahy-kon-uh-klast ]
/ aɪˈkɒn əˌklæst /
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See synonyms for: iconoclast / iconoclastic on Thesaurus.com
noun
a person who attacks cherished beliefs, traditional institutions, etc., as being based on error or superstition.
a breaker or destroyer of images, especially those set up for religious veneration.
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Origin of iconoclast

1590–1600; <Medieval Latin īconoclastēs<Medieval Greek eikonoklástēs, equivalent to Greek eikono-icono- + -klastēs breaker, equivalent to klas- (variant stem of klân to break) + -tēs agent noun suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM iconoclast

i·con·o·clas·tic, adjective

Words nearby iconoclast

iconic, iconic memory, Iconium, icono-, iconoclasm, iconoclast, iconoclastic, iconographic, iconography, iconolatry, iconology
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to iconoclast

critic, cynic, dissenter, dissident, heretic, nonbeliever, questioner, radical, rebel, revolutionist, ruiner, sceptic, unbeliever, denouncer, non-conformist

How to use iconoclast in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for iconoclast

iconoclast
/ (aɪˈkɒnəˌklæst) /
noun
a person who attacks established or traditional concepts, principles, laws, etc
  1. a destroyer of religious images or sacred objects
  2. an adherent of the heretical movement within the Greek Orthodox Church from 725 to 842 ad, which aimed at the destruction of icons and religious images

Derived forms of iconoclast

iconoclastic, adjectiveiconoclastically, adverb

Word Origin for iconoclast

C16: from Late Latin iconoclastes, from Late Greek eikonoklastes, from eikōn icon + klastēs breaker
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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