freethinking

Etymology

From free + thinking.

freethinking means the principles of a freethinker; free thought. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 86 out of 100.

Why “freethinking” is a great word

FREETHINKING — [Noun] The practice of forming opinions, especially on religious or philosophical matters, independently of authority or tradition. From free (unrestricted) + thinking (the process of thought). Unlike skepticism, which is a posture of doubt toward specific claims, or orthodoxy, which is adherence to established doctrine, freethinking is the positive commitment to building belief through autonomous reason. It is the solitary candle lit after the town's curfew bell, the deliberate cultivation of a private garden of conclusions, and the patient chisel liberating a form from unshaped marble—a quiet declaration that the mind's sovereignty is worth the vertigo of its solitude.

noun

The principles of a freethinker; free thought.