1
Core meaning
A person who challenges or attacks established beliefs, traditions, institutions, or admired figures.
Example
The critic was an iconoclast who questioned the accepted canon.
iconoclast
/aɪˈkɒnəklæst/ · eye-KON-uh-klastnoun
A person who challenges or attacks established beliefs, traditions, institutions, or admired figures.
Use iconoclast to express this relationship precisely: a person who challenges or attacks established beliefs, traditions, institutions, or admired figures.
What iconoclast Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Common noun frame
Use this noun in a complete noun phrase, adding the complement that identifies what it refers to when needed.
Example
As an iconoclast, she rejected conventions that others considered essential.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact concept matters; a related term may describe its cause, evidence, or opposite instead.
Example
The essay praises him as an innovator rather than dismissing him as an iconoclast.
Use iconoclast Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The critic was an iconoclast who questioned the accepted canon.
As an iconoclast, she rejected conventions that others considered essential.
The essay praises him as an innovator rather than dismissing him as an iconoclast.
Precision Matters
Iconoclast overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
iconoclast
vs.Means a person who challenges or attacks established beliefs, traditions, institutions, or admired figures.
maverick
Means an independent-minded person who rejects a group's usual rules, positions, or conventions.
iconoclast
vs.Means a person who challenges or attacks established beliefs, traditions, institutions, or admired figures.
orthodox
Means conforming to an established or generally accepted theory, belief, or practice.
iconoclast
vs.Means a person who challenges or attacks established beliefs, traditions, institutions, or admired figures.
conventional
Means based on established practice, tradition, or general acceptance.
iconoclast
vs.Means a person who challenges or attacks established beliefs, traditions, institutions, or admired figures.
demagogue
Means a political leader who gains support by exploiting popular fears, prejudices, or emotions rather than using reasoned argument.
Test iconoclast in Context
The scholar openly challenges established and cherished beliefs.
1
By rejecting the field's most revered assumptions, the young scholar earned a reputation as an ___.