noun
Primarily used in religious contexts to refer to someone who holds beliefs contrary to orthodox doctrine.
中世では、異端者は火刑に処されることもあった。
In the Middle Ages, heretics were sometimes burned at the stake.
noun
nonconformist; freethinker; iconoclast; rebel
Extended to secular contexts: a person who rejects conventional ideas, norms, or authority; often carries a nuance of intellectual independence or defiance.
彼は学界の異端者として知られている。
He is known as an iconoclast in academic circles.
その政治家は党内で異端者扱いされている。
That politician is treated as a rebel within the party.
反逆者 emphasizes active rebellion or treason against authority, whereas 異端者 focuses on deviating from accepted beliefs or norms.
Compound of 異端 (itan, 'heresy') + 者 (sha, 'person'). The term 異端 is composed of 異 (i, 'different') and 端 (tan, 'end, edge'), originally referring to a divergent branch or extreme view.