maverick
adjective · noun · verb
Simple meaning
Showing independence in thoughts or actions.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
maverikSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmævɚɪk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Showing independence in thoughts or actions.
of cattle
Unbranded.
noun
by extension
One who is unconventional or does not abide by rules.
An unbranded range animal (especially a stray calf); belongs to the first person who puts a brand on it
by extension
One who creates or uses controversial or unconventional ideas or practices.
A member of one of the sports teams with a mascot called Maverick.
Any of several individual secondary school and sports team mascots, most of which are in the United States.
Someone who attends, or has attended in the past, one of these schools, especially one involved in the sports teams.
verb
us
To take an unbranded range animal.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Showing independence in thoughts or actions.
Used this way, maverick is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use maverick
- “The new manager was a maverick, always suggesting unconventional ideas for projects.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.