as in dissident
deviating from commonly accepted beliefs or practices
a cattle-ranching family that took some time in getting used to their daughter's nonconformist adoption of vegetarianism
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in maverick
a person who does not conform to generally accepted standards or customs
always the nonconformist, she insisted on wearing red on St. Patrick's Day and not green like everyone else
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dissenter
a person who believes, teaches, or advocates something opposed to accepted beliefs
a nonconformist who was excommunicated from her church for her teachings
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nonconformist
Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 18 Oct. 2022
The uniform and the nonconformist.
—Rachel Tashjian, Harper's BAZAAR, 9 Aug. 2022
Ye, however, was widely known to be both a perfectionist and a nonconformist.
—New York Times, 25 July 2022
The Return of Tanya Tucker is a fittingly unconventional portrait of a nonconformist.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2022
See All Example Sentences for nonconformist
Noun
In her breakthrough piece, Heretic, Graham is dressed in white and rebuffed and rebuked by a group of 12 women dressed in black: the punishment of the nonconformist.
—Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 18 Oct. 2022
The uniform and the nonconformist.
—Rachel Tashjian, Harper's BAZAAR, 9 Aug. 2022
Ye, however, was widely known to be both a perfectionist and a nonconformist.
—New York Times, 25 July 2022
The Return of Tanya Tucker is a fittingly unconventional portrait of a nonconformist.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2022
See All Example Sentences for nonconformist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nonconformist
Adjective
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This situation has raised the question once again as to whether the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) should create a special category for dissident filmmakers who are barred from representing their countries.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
10 Sep. 2025
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In Northern Ireland, dissident IRA groups launched attacks even after the Good Friday Agreement was concluded in 1998, which formally ended the Troubles.—
Alpaslan Ozerdem,
The Conversation,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Jazz is an art form with an outsized share of mavericks, rebels, and creative dissidents who’ve built careers by blazing their own particular paths.—
Andrew Gilbert,
Mercury News,
19 Sep. 2025
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One is Shinjiro Koizumi, the 44-year-old son of maverick former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who led the country from 2001 to 2006.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Miran, who was confirmed by the Senate to the Fed Board of Governors on Monday, was the sole dissenter in the Federal Open Market Committee’s statement.—
Sean Conlon,
CNBC,
17 Sep. 2025
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During the repressive dictatorship, when thousands of dissenters were murdered or disappeared, standing up for one’s rights could mean jail or worse.—
Rafael Romo,
CNN Money,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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There is immense comfort in shared failure; there is immense career risk in an unconventional success that cannot be easily explained to a board.—
Benjamin D. Summers,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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And at last week’s Davis Cup qualifiers, an even weirder extension of the unconventional serve made a high-profile appearance.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Lopez posted lookbooks on Facebook and staged renegade runway shows—during, but outside, the main calendar of New York Fashion Week.—
Ana Karina Zatarain,
New Yorker,
19 Sep. 2025
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The polar figures of 16th-century Italian choral music, Palestrina, the Apollonian master of elegant counterpoint, and Gesualdo, the violent renegade of plangent harmonies, meet on the same program presented by Miller Theater.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Board member Renee Paschall cast the lone dissenting vote on the final package.—
Elizabeth Sander,
San Antonio Express-News,
19 Aug. 2022
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The document runs to more than a hundred and fifty pages, and for each question there are affirmative and dissenting studies, as well as some that indicate mixed results.—
The New Yorker,
The New Yorker,
3 June 2022
Noun
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For Mimi Pond, the desire to do a book about the Mitford sisters – six larger-than-life British eccentrics (and one brother) who created a stir in both British and American culture – was obvious.—
Erik Pedersen,
Oc Register,
5 Sep. 2025
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For decades, sovereign citizens largely flew under the radar in Australia as relatively harmless eccentrics with a special interest in conspiracy theories.—
Hilary Whiteman,
CNN Money,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nonconformist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonconformist. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
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