Meaning & use
heterodox
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Meanings
adjectivecomparableformalreligion
Departing from the official or widely accepted beliefs of a church, party or other group.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: a heterodox view.
Patterns
- a heterodox view
- heterodox beliefs
The priest was punished for his heterodox teachings.
Her heterodox views on grammar shocked the old professors.
Heterodox ideas often appear first on the edge of a movement.
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
Describing schools of economics that reject the mainstream theory and offer alternatives.
Grammar: Usually in the phrase heterodox economics.
Patterns
- heterodox economics
- a heterodox economist
He is a heterodox economist who questions market theory.
The university teaches heterodox approaches alongside the standard model.
Heterodox economics challenges many assumptions.
Word forms
| comparative | more heterodox |
|---|---|
| superlative | most heterodox |
Common combinations
- heterodox views
- His heterodox views got him dismissed.
- heterodox economics
- She teaches a course on heterodox economics.
- heterodox beliefs
- The sect held heterodox beliefs about the afterlife.
- heterodox approach
- The team took a heterodox approach to the problem.
- decidedly heterodox
- His opinions were decidedly heterodox.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unorthodox
- Unorthodox is common and can describe any unusual method, while heterodox is formal and concerns accepted doctrine.
- heretical
- Heretical is stronger and suggests a serious offense against a faith, whereas heterodox can be neutral.
- dissenting
- Dissenting stresses open disagreement, while heterodox describes the belief itself.
- nonconformist
- Nonconformist describes people who do not follow rules, not only beliefs.
Opposites
Word family
- heterodoxy noun
- a belief that departs from the accepted view
- orthodox adjective
- following accepted beliefs
- orthodoxy noun
- the generally accepted set of beliefs
- heterogeneous adjective
- made up of different kinds
Commonly confused: heterodox or heterogeneous?
heterodox vs heterogeneous
Heterogeneous means made up of different kinds, while heterodox means holding views that depart from the standard. They share the Greek root for different.
Practice
The economist's ____ theory rejected the standard textbook model of how markets behave.
Choose one answer.
Heterodox means departing from accepted belief. Orthodox, mainstream and traditional all mean the standard view, which contradicts the rejection described.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “heterodox”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.