iconoclast

[ ahy-kon-uh-klast ]

noun

1. a person who attacks cherished beliefs, traditional institutions, etc., as being based on error or superstition.

   Synonyms: radical, dissenter, rebel, nonconformist

2. a breaker or destroyer of images, especially those set up for religious veneration.

iconoclast

/ aɪˈkɒnəˌklæst /

noun

1. a person who attacks established or traditional concepts, principles, laws, etc
2. 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

• iˌconoˈclastically, adverb
• iˌconoˈclastic, adjective

Other Words From

• i·cono·clastic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of iconoclast¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of iconoclast¹

C16: from Late Latin iconoclastes, from Late Greek eikonoklastes , from eikōn icon + klastēs breaker

Example Sentences

Early in the 20th century, French iconoclast Marcel Duchamp described a new “scientific spirit” for avant-garde art, noting the methodical painterly investigations of predecessors Georges Seurat and Paul Cézanne.

From Los Angeles Times

Greenfield called Jackson an “iconoclast,” and this contrarian spirit is integral to an artist who is dubious of sacred cows.

From Los Angeles Times

There was something hopeful about the iconoclast in O.J., for he dared to defy the limits placed on his Black self.

From New York Times

Yet even on a day — officially “Jaromir Jagr Day” in Pittsburgh — there were still hints of the iconoclast whose passion for the game he’s helped redefine outweighs everything else.

From Seattle Times

He was reverent and rude, a very knowledgeable man and an iconoclast, smalltown and metropolitan at the same time.

From BBC