Heretic Meaning
/ˈhɛɹɪtɪk/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounSomeone whose beliefs are contrary to the fundamental tenets of a religion they claim to belong to.
nounSomeone who does not conform to generally accepted beliefs or practices.
Sentence Examples
She was accused of being a heretic.
The heretic was burned at the stake.
Tom was burnt at the stake as a heretic.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ was burned at the stake for his unusual beliefs.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The young scholar was branded a ____ for questioning the traditional theories of the local elders.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English heretyk, heretike, from Old French eretique, from Medieval Latin or Ecclesiastical Latin haereticus, from Ancient Greek αἱρετικός (hairetikós, “able to choose, factious”), itself from Ancient Greek αἱρέω (hairéō, “to choose”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"He semeth a sysmatyke
Or els an heretike,
For fayth in hym is faynte."
— c. 1503–1512, John Skelton, Ware the Hauke; republished in John Scattergood, editor, John Skelton: The Complete English Poems, 1983, →OCLC, page 62, lines 17–19:
"In the framework of traditional medical ethics, the patient deserves humane attention only insofar as he is potentially healthy and is willing to be healthy—just as in the framework of traditional Christian ethics, the heretic deserved humane attention only insofar as he was potentially a true believer and was willing to become one."
— 1974, Thomas S. Szasz, chapter 11, in The Myth of Mental Illness, →ISBN, page 197:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ was burned at the stake for his unusual beliefs.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The young scholar was branded a ____ for questioning the traditional theories of the local elders.