iconoclasm
/aɪˈkɒnəˌklæzəm/
iconoclasm means the belief in, participation in, or sanction of destroying religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It carries an Arena rating of 1821, earned across 72 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, iconoclasm ranks #247 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #363 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #408 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #688 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
iconoclasm is pronounced /aɪˈkɒnəˌklæzəm/.
Why “iconoclasm” is a great word
ICONOCLASM — [Noun] The doctrine, practice, or attitude of destroying religious images or, by extension, of attacking cherished beliefs or institutions. From New Latin iconoclasmus, from Late Greek eikonoklasmos, from eikōn ('image, icon') + klasma ('breaking, fragment'). First attested in English circa 1797 in the physical sense, with the figurative sense emerging by 1858. Unlike heresy, which primarily denotes a deviation from core doctrine, or reform, which suggests constructive change within a system, iconoclasm is the targeted, often violent, rejection of a system’s sacred symbols themselves. It is the axe taken to a stained-glass saint, the toppling of a bronze dictator, and the gleeful demolition of a hallowed academic theory—a destructive act that is, paradoxically, the first gesture toward making space for something new.
Etymology
From iconoclast.
noun
- The belief in, participation in, or sanction of destroying religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives.
- A challenge to a widely held belief, tradition or cherished institution.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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