free spirit

Definitions

1. One who is a nonconformist or who does not recognize the authority of others.
2. A member of the organized heretic movement Brethren of the Free Spirit in opposition of the Catholic Church from the 13th to 15th centuries.
   historical

Equivalents

Examples

“But Lucifer was a free spirit. To serve⟳ was to suffocate.”

“—“And thou,” said Zarathustra to the wanderer and shadow, “thou callest and thinkest thyself a free spirit? And thou here practisest such idolatry and hierolatry?”

“Writing in the Victorian era, Scientist Ellis (Psychology of Sex) idolized Casanova as a free spirit, a man who had the courage to live⟳ life fully, and as a shining example of "adjustment"—for Casanova adapted himself so easily to his own⟳ desires.”

“To many bosses, a beard is a dangerous sign⟳, like⟳ a neck tattoo or a pierced nose, that says, “I am a free spirit, not a team player.””

“Free spirits sought paradise with the claim⟳ that only through the affirmation of sin could one negate it. The partisan of the Free Spirit did not incarnate sin. He […] incarnated God.”

CEFR level