Nonconforms

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Referring to individuals who do not adhere to established norms or conventions within a society or group
2. Describing behavior that deviates from standard practices or expectations, often in pursuit of personal beliefs
3. Characterizing those who resist compliance with traditional rules, customs, or trends in various contexts

Etymology: "Nonconforms" is the third-person singular present form of "nonconform," a verb meaning to reject common norms or refuse to follow prevailing standards. The verb is built from the prefix "non-," meaning "not," attached to "conform," which comes from Latin "conformare," meaning "to shape together" or "to give a similar form." Its parts are therefore easy to read: a person who nonconforms refuses to take on the shape that the group around them expects. The prefix does most of the work here. "Conform" carries the sense of bringing things into the same form, so adding "non-" simply reverses that action. Many English words built this way, such as "nonaligned" or "nonstop," follow the same pattern of attaching "non-" to an existing word to name its absence.

Synonyms: dissents, rebels, deviates

Antonyms: conforms