NONCONFORMIST

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does Nonconformist mean? 

• NONCONFORMIST (noun)
  The noun NONCONFORMIST has 2 senses:

1. a Protestant in England who is not a member of the Church of England

2. someone who refuses to conform to established standards of conduct

  Familiarity information: NONCONFORMIST used as a noun is rare.

• NONCONFORMIST (adjective)
  The adjective NONCONFORMIST has 2 senses:

1. not conforming to some norm or socially approved pattern of behavior or thought

2. not conforming to established customs or doctrines especially in religion

  Familiarity information: NONCONFORMIST used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NONCONFORMIST (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A Protestant in England who is not a member of the Church of England

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

chapelgoer; Nonconformist

Hypernyms ("Nonconformist" is a kind of...):

Protestant (an adherent of Protestantism)

Antonym:

Anglican (a Protestant who is a follower of Anglicanism)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Someone who refuses to conform to established standards of conduct

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

nonconformist; recusant

Hypernyms ("nonconformist" is a kind of...):

contestant; dissenter; dissident; objector; protester (a person who dissents from some established policy)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "nonconformist"):

beat; beatnik (a member of the beat generation; a nonconformist in dress and behavior)

bohemian (a nonconformist writer or artist who lives an unconventional life)

enfant terrible (a person whose unconventional behavior embarrasses others)

heretic (a person who holds unorthodox opinions in any field (not merely religion))

maverick; rebel (someone who exhibits great independence in thought and action)

Antonym:

conformist (someone who conforms to established standards of conduct (especially in religious matters))

Derivation:

nonconformism (a lack of orthodoxy in thoughts or beliefs)

• NONCONFORMIST (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Not conforming to some norm or socially approved pattern of behavior or thought

Synonyms:

nonconformist; unconformist

Context example:

the old stubborn nonconformist spirit of the early settlers

Antonym:

conformist (marked by convention and conformity to customs or rules or styles)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Not conforming to established customs or doctrines especially in religion

Synonyms:

nonconforming; nonconformist

Similar:

unorthodox (breaking with convention or tradition)

 Context examples 

He disappeared into his bedroom and returned in a few minutes in the character of an amiable and simple-minded Nonconformist clergyman.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)