maverick 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of mavericknext
as in dissident
deviating from commonly accepted beliefs or practices George Sand's maverick views on marriage scandalized 19th-century French society

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

maverick

2 of 2

noun

ˈmav-rik How to pronounce maverick (audio)
as in bohemian
a person who does not conform to generally accepted standards or customs there's always one maverick who has to go his own way

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of maverick
Adjective
This week’s visit will be scrutinized for clues about the trajectory of a more maverick Saudi foreign policy. — Stephen Kalin, WSJ, 8 Dec. 2022 As the label carved out a space for pop’s true maverick weirdos, Harle became notable for his classically pristine pop production, evident on collaborations with Charli XCX and Carly Rae Jepsen. — Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 5 Dec. 2022
Noun
People like Representative Anna Paulina Luna, who's a Florida Republican and kind of a maverick on some issues, were tweeting very soon after this warning came out saying that Congress needed to do something. — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2026 Bill Kerby, the maverick screenwriter who wrote the first draft of the Bette Midler-starring rock drama The Rose and worked on The Last American Hero, The Gravy Train and Hooper as well, has died. — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for maverick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for maverick
  1. dissident
  2. iconoclast
  3. unconventional
  4. eccentric
  5. individualist
  6. nonconformist
  7. loner
Adjective
  • The head of the United Kingdom’s MI5 spy agency said Iran is trying to strike military sites in Britain, going beyond the traditional targets of dissident Iranians.
    — Jared Gans, The Hill, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The regime transmuted its coercive force into political legitimacy through the spectacular destruction of dissident bodies, restoring reverence for the Eagle.
    — Abdelrahman ElGendy, Time, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of dissident
Noun
  • Leave it to British art world iconoclast Damien Hirst to answer it definitively.
    — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 3 Oct. 2026
  • In the dot-com and digital revolutions that followed, many of the people who sold the hardware, coded the software, and built the platforms were seen as iconoclasts themselves.
    — Jake Lundberg, The Atlantic, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of iconoclast
Adjective
  • The food-beauty collaboration pipeline is gaining an unconventional contender.
    — Noor Lobad, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The most unconventional of the trio is the jamón y queso, built with ribbons of jamón serrano.
    — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of unconventional
Noun
  • Janney’s Silda, the wisecracking eccentric with an ax to grind, is the live wire of the company.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The public reckonings with these figures’ legacies—the troubled former child star gone too soon, the beloved icon, the cult favorite, the complicated eccentric—have come in a cascade.
    — Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of eccentric
Noun
  • Across a sample of 102 nations, Nordic ones (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Finland) come out as the most individualist.
    — Mark Carey, New York Times, 9 Aug. 2026
  • This franchise didn't draft John Matuszak, but Davis found the boundary-pushing, difficult-to-coach individualist a perfect fit for the Raiders.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of individualist
Noun
  • The phrase suggests outsider, nonconformist — things in fashion this year.
    — Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 5 Aug. 2026
  • At least Guillén still speaks his mind on the Sox’s pre- and postgame shows, so maybe there’s hope for nonconformists after all.
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
Definition of nonconformist
Noun
  • John Wayne and Gary Cooper, like Ken-san, often played anachronistic loners from a disappearing Arcadia that was being destroyed by hard-nosed modernizers—greedy bankers, railway owners, big-city politicians.
    — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Responding to an ad in the newspaper puts Bernie in contact with Comer’s Araminta, a loner whose ultimate dream is to embalm a human body as the crown jewel of her taxidermy collection, which includes all sorts of fauna.
    — Zachary Lee, IndieWire, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of loner

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maverick
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Cite this Entry

“Maverick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maverick. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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