as in kook
a person who forms his or her own opinions about important subjects (such as religion and politics) instead of accepting what other people say
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of freethinker
By this time, however, even in cases where freethinkers were convicted of blasphemy, judges appeared to offer leniency.
—
Kristina M. Lee, The Conversation, 18 Oct. 2024
The boys, including brilliant freethinker Melchior (Marshall) and his deaf friend Moritz (Joseph Saraceni), suffer through rote Latin learning with little room for creative thought.
—Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 2 Mar. 2024
As a freethinker who had run afoul of both Judaism and Christianity, Spinoza knew that bigotry and fanaticism weren’t just imposed on the people; they were also imposed by the people.
—Adam Kirsch, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
But get this: the freethinkers who dreamed up this potential flood tide work not out of Honda's Japanese R&D center and studio but its American think tank and design enclave in Southern California.
—Larry Griffin, Car and Driver, 15 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for freethinker
Kristina M. Lee, The Conversation, 18 Oct. 2024
The boys, including brilliant freethinker Melchior (Marshall) and his deaf friend Moritz (Joseph Saraceni), suffer through rote Latin learning with little room for creative thought.
—Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 2 Mar. 2024
As a freethinker who had run afoul of both Judaism and Christianity, Spinoza knew that bigotry and fanaticism weren’t just imposed on the people; they were also imposed by the people.
—Adam Kirsch, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
But get this: the freethinkers who dreamed up this potential flood tide work not out of Honda's Japanese R&D center and studio but its American think tank and design enclave in Southern California.
—Larry Griffin, Car and Driver, 15 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for freethinker
Recent Examples of Synonyms for freethinker
Noun
-
Listen to your doctor, not kooks like Bobby Kennedy and Dave Weldon.—
New York Daily News,
Twin Cities,
21 Mar. 2025
-
Listen to your doctor, not kooks like Bobby Kennedy and Dave Weldon.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
15 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
There’s a bunch of weirdos in a building wearing tutus and standing on their tippy toes.—
Zoe G. Phillips,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Apr. 2025
-
Though never a commercial success, the LP made its way into the hands of oddball punks and art-rock weirdos in the Midwest, intriguing many with its aloof approach to merging rock, punk, new-wave, and experimental prog.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
24 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
In his last, most pathetic years, Mark Twain threw himself behind the crackpot theory that the true author of Shakespeare’s plays may have been Francis Bacon.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
9 May 2025
-
That’s what Elliot (Rudd) and his daughter Ridley (Ortega) confront while on a journey to a retreat hosted by Elliot’s greedy crackpot boss (Grant).—
Randy Myers,
The Mercury News,
21 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Chicago will be the only U.S. city to see the 92-year-old iconoclast Yoko Ono's new show.—
Carrie Shepherd,
Axios,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Season eight’s unapologetic iconoclast, Acid Betty, returns to the competition to kick ass and take names.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
23 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
To take her mind off him, Agathe meets an Austen-like family of eccentrics running the retreat and the sometimes pretentious writers attending it.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
22 May 2025
-
But the settlers’ belief in the value of public goods and embrace of independent thinkers remain woven into the character of the city, which continues to attract artists, eccentrics and writers.—
Isabelle Taft,
New York Times,
4 May 2025
Noun
-
For older codgers like me who prefer golf clubs to nightclubs, a serene and charming alternative is the city of La Quinta, best known for its incomparable golf courses at PGA West and the historic La Quinta Resort & Club, another redolent whiff of Hollywood’s glorious days gone by.—
David Weiss,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
-
Popular culture’s usual parade of toothless codgers and crones increasingly seemed obsolete.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
The New Yorker,
25 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
Immigration has surged, and the United States has entered an individualist, conservative epoch.—
Robert Petkoff Krish Seenivasan Quinton Kamara,
New York Times,
24 Feb. 2025
-
No other nation has more outstanding individualists.—
Philipp Lahm,
The Athletic,
24 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Garrett, a maverick who put the Portuguese town of Nazaré on the map for its massive waves, set a record there, surfing a 78-footer — imagine an eight-story office building coming up behind you.—
Yvonne Villarreal,
Los Angeles Times,
23 May 2025
-
Trump had called out Massie by name during the meeting, ribbing the Kentucky maverick for opposing the legislation at the heart of the president’s domestic agenda.—
Mike Lillis,
The Hill,
20 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Freethinker.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/freethinker. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share