Adjacent Words

nonconformist definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: not conforming to some norm or socially approved pattern of behavior or thought; "their rabidly nonconformist deportment has made them legendary"; "the old stubborn nonconformist spirit of the early settlers" [syn: nonconformist, unconformist] [ant: conformist]
2: not conforming to established customs or doctrines especially in religion [syn: nonconforming, nonconformist] n
1: a Protestant in England who is not a member of the Church of England [syn: Nonconformist, chapelgoer] [ant: Anglican]
2: someone who refuses to conform to established standards of conduct [syn: nonconformist, recusant] [ant: conformist]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1619 1. often capitalized a person who does not conform to an established church; especially one who does not conform to the Church of England 2. a person who does not conform to a generally accepted pattern of thought or action • nonconformist adjective, often capitalized

Britannica Concise

Any English Protestant who does not conform to the doctrines or practices of the established Church of England. The term was first used after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 to describe congregations that had separated from the national church. Such congregations, also called Separatists or Dissenters, often rejected Anglican rites and doctrines as being too close to Catholicism. In the late 19th cent., Nonconformists of various denominations joined together to form the Free Church Federal Council. In England and Wales the term is generally applied to all Protestant denominations outside Anglicanism, incl. Baptists, Congregationalists, Unitarians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Quakers, and Churches of Christ.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a person who does not conform to the doctrine or discipline of an established Church, esp. (Nonconformist) a member of a (usu. Protestant) sect dissenting from the Anglican Church. 2 a person who does not conform to a prevailing principle. Derivatives: nonconformism n. Nonconformism n.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Nonconformist Non`con*form"ist, n. One who does not conform to an established church; especially, one who does not conform to the established church of England; a dissenter.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

also non-conformist(nonconformists) 1. If you say that someone's way of life or opinions are nonconformist, you mean that they are different from those of most people. Their views are non-conformist and their political opinions are extreme... ...a nonconformist lifestyle. = unconventional ? conventional ADJ • A nonconformist is someone who is nonconformist. Victoria stood out as a dazzling non-conformist. N-COUNT 2. In Britain, nonconformist churches are Protestant churches which are not part of the Church of England. His father was a Nonconformist minister. ADJ: ADJ n • A nonconformist is a member of a nonconformist church. Although he seems to be an old-fashioned non-conformist, he is in fact a very devout Catholic. N-COUNT

Moby Thesaurus

Albigensian, Arian, Bohemian, Cathar, Donatist, Ebionite, Erastian, Gnostic, Jansenist, Lollard, Manichaean, Monophysite, Montanist, Pelagian, Sabellian, Waldensian, Wyclifite, agitator, alien, anomaly, antagonistic, antinomian, antipathetic, apostate, beatnik, brawler, breakaway, capricious, case, changeable, changing, character, choppy, clashing, conflicting, contradicting, contradictory, counteractant, counteracting, counteractive, countervailing, counterworking, crackpot, crank, cranky, crosspatch, crotchety, demurrer, deviant, deviating, deviative, deviatory, different, disorderly, dissenter, dissentient, dissident, divaricate, divergent, diversified, diversiform, dropout, eccentric, emanationist, erose, erratic, exception, extremist, fanatic, flake, flower child, freak, frondeur, heretic, heretical, hermit, heterodox, hippie, hobo, hostile, hylotheist, iconoclast, iconoclastic, impulsive, inconsistent, inconstant, individualist, individualistic, inimical, inner-directed, inner-directed person, insubordinate, insurgent, insurrectionary, insurrectionist, insurrecto, irregular, jagged, jerky, kook, lone wolf, loner, malcontent, maverick, mercurial, meshuggenah, misbeliever, misfit, motley, mutable, mutineer, natural, naysayer, nonconformer, nonconforming, nonjuror, nonstandard, nonuniform, nut, objector, odd fellow, oddball, oddity, opinionist, opposing, opposition voice, oppositional, oppugnant, original, outsider, pantheist, pariah, perverse, pluralistic, protestant, protester, queer duck, queer fish, queer specimen, radical, ragged, rara avis, reactionary, rebel, rebellious, recalcitrant, recluse, recusant, renegade, renitent, repugnant, resistant, revolter, revolutionary, revolutionist, rioter, rough, schismatic, screwball, sectarian, sectary, separatist, solitary, spasmodic, sporadic, sport, strange duck, subversive, swinger, traitor, tramp, type, ugly duckling, unconformist, unequable, unequal, uneven, unorthodox, unstable, unsteady, unsystematic, ununiform, variable, variegated, variform, various, varying, wavering, weirdo, yippie, zealot