iconoclast

iconoclast

Audio pronunciation

 
noun|eye-KAH-nuh-klast
 
What It Means
 
Iconoclast originally referred to someone who destroys religious images or who opposes their veneration. It is now used to refer broadly to anyone who criticizes or opposes beliefs and practices that are widely accepted.
 
// The comedian had developed a reputation as a contrarian and an iconoclast for whom no topic was off-limits.
 
See the entry >
 
Scroll down for more about iconoclast
 
 
 




 
 
 
PEOPLE ARE READING
 

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'
 
 

Etymologies for Every Day of the Week
 

Top 12 Sophisticated Compliments
 
 

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?
 
 
 
WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE
 


 
 
 
Name That Dessert!
 
Hope you’ve saved room for some sweet vocabulary.
 
  PLAY NOW 
 
Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try! TAKE ME THERE >
 
 
 
Examples of ICONOCLAST
 
“Chicago will be the only U.S. city to see the 92-year-old iconoclast Yoko Ono’s new show. ... ‘Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind’ goes back to the start of the artist’s career in the mid-’50s, and the role she played in the creative worlds of New York, Tokyo and London.” — Carrie Shepherd, Axios, 1 Apr. 2025
 




 
Did You Know?
 
Iconoclast comes from the Middle Greek word eikonokl;st;s, which translates literally as “image destroyer.” While the destruction wrought by today’s iconoclasts is figurative—in modern use, an iconoclast is someone who criticizes or opposes beliefs and practices that are widely accepted—the first iconoclasts directed their ire at religious icons, those representations of sacred individuals used as objects of veneration. The Byzantine Empire’s Iconoclastic Controversy occurred in the 8th and 9th centuries, but the word iconoclast didn’t find its way to English until the 17th century. Figurative use came later still.