heretic
/ˈhɛɹɪtɪk/noun
heretic is spelled H-E-R-E-T-I-C: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, heretic means “Someone whose beliefs are contrary to the fundamental tenets of a religion they claim to belong to” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of heretic is heretics.
How many letters and syllables are in heretic?
| Letters | 7: H-E-R-E-T-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,918th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is heretic?
Heretic appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce heretic?
- /ˈhɛɹɪtɪk/
Heretic has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-heretic.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with heretic?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as heretic.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: etheric.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of heretic
- heretics plural
- more heretic comparative
- most heretic superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does heretic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Someone whose beliefs are contrary to the fundamental tenets of a religion they claim to belong to.
- 2
Someone who does not conform to generally accepted beliefs or practices.
adjective
- 1
archaicHeretical; of or pertaining to heresy or heretics.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Heretic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense someone who believes contrary to fundamentals of a religion:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | hérétique |
| German | Ketzer, Ketzerin, Häretiker, Häretikerin, Abweichler, Abweichlerin |
| Portuguese | herege |
| Spanish | hereje |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does heretic come from?
From Middle English heretyk, heretike, from Old French eretique, from Medieval Latin or Ecclesiastical Latin haereticus, from Ancient Greek αἱρετικός (hairetikós, “able to choose, factious”), itself from Ancient Greek αἱρέω (hairéō, “to choose”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).