iconoclast
noun
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For the Meaning of Iconoclast, Break It Down
Iconoclast comes from the Greek word eikonoklastēs, 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.
Examples of iconoclast in a Sentence
Ian Malone, Vogue, 7 Feb. 2025
Zoom in: While some CEOs pride themselves on being collegial consensus-builders, many more like to think of themselves as daring iconoclasts, leading from the front into uncharted opportunity.
—Felix Salmon, Axios, 16 Jan. 2025
And at a festival that celebrates the rebels, the artists and the iconoclasts, is there anything more Sundance than that?
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 24 Jan. 2025
The late 13th century paintings were whitewashed following a mid-15th-century fire at the cathedral and subsequently boxed behind woodwork by 1786, which protected them from iconoclasts and vandalization during the French Revolution.
—Francesca Aton For Artnews, Robb Report, 4 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Iconoclast.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/iconoclast. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.
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