: characteristic of, suggestive of, or inclined to be a maverick
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When a client gave Samuel A. Maverick 400 cattle to settle a $1,200 debt, the 19th-century south Texas lawyer had no use for them, so he left the cattle unbranded and allowed them to roam freely (supposedly under the supervision of one of his employees). Neighboring stockmen recognized their opportunity and seized it, branding and herding the stray cattle as their own. Maverick eventually recognized the folly of the situation and sold what was left of his depleted herd, but not before his name became synonymous with such unbranded livestock. By the end of the 19th century, the term maverick was being used to refer to individuals who prefer to blaze their own trails.
NounLet him refind his inner rebel, the famous irreverent maverick, let the tiger out of the cage. Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal, 28–29 June 2008In the Senate, however, he had established himself as a bright and prickly maverick, not averse to sharp criticism of his own party, its policies, and its leaders, most especially Bill Clinton. John Gregory Dunne, New York Review of Books, 13 June 2002This, of course, is dangerous for the rest of us. With one successfully repatriated daughter, Papi might yank us all out of college and send us back. Not to mention that it's out and out creepy that Fifi, the maverick, is so changed. Julia Alvarez, How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents, 1991 there's always one maverick who has to go his own way AdjectiveOccasionally nerves and veins take maverick pathways and show up in unexpected places. Virginia Holman, Double Take, Winter 2002Later British units, deprived of the opportunity for maverick expression by a revamped chain of UN command with a different political agenda, started spouting the organization's euphemisms that sought to paint every Bosnian side the same shade of guilty grey. Anthony Loyd, My War Gone By, I Miss It So, 1999He was maverick enough, original-minded enough, however, to realize that he could do better than simply follow Murray's orders to the letter. Simon Winchester, The Professor and the Madman, 1998 George Sand's maverick views on marriage scandalized 19th-century French society. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The writer, theologian, social activist, and monk Thomas Merton makes for an unlikely example of a maverick, but certainly that is how he was regarded among many of his peers in the Christian faith. Chris Wheatley, Longreads, 21 Aug. 2014 On the global stage, Mr. Gorbachev was viewed as a maverick compared with his predecessors. Ann M. Simmons, WSJ, 30 Aug. 2022 Spring forward to now, and the long-haired fashion maverick continues to challenge the status quo with his cutting-edge designs, awash with historical and pop culture references. Alex Kessler, Vogue, 25 Aug. 2022 Now, this tailoring maverick has landed at the practice’s mecca: Savile Row. Matharu’s arrival at the Row isn’t about upturning the cutting tables so much as reimagining what’s possible at the home of British bespoke. Alexander Freeling, Robb Report, 24 Aug. 2022 For Harmon, this has been a series development process like no other, and the maverick writer is unsurprisingly just fine with that. Todd Spangler, Variety, 17 Aug. 2022 The company, founded by Tenev and fellow Stanford graduate Baiju Bhatt, was a maverick from the get-go. Declan Harty, Fortune, 23 July 2022 Fashion maverick Issey Miyake, known for his showstopping performance art runway shows, cult perfumes, and innovative fabric manipulation, has died in a Tokyo hospital at age 84. Essence Fashion, Essence, 9 Aug. 2022 This bill, negotiated by Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin, the conservative maverick Democrat from West Virginia, would raise $739 billion in revenue. Alan Fram, Anchorage Daily News, 5 Aug. 2022
Adjective
For some reason, maverick agent Fox Mulder’s creepy superiors want to discredit his probes of the allegedly supernatural. Ed Stockly, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2022 Golden Goose, a maverick footwear enterprise, would like to propose an alternative: handicraft and repair.New York Times, 9 July 2022 The crypto world loves to embrace larger-than-life heroes like Satoshi, Bitcoin’s pseudonymous founder, and Changpeng Zhao, maverick CEO of giant trading exchange Binance. Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 1 Aug. 2022 As a maverick Republican senator, Urquhart had sparred with the LDS Church several times, mainly over LGBTQ rights. Cassady Rosenblum, Rolling Stone, 28 June 2022 That makes Nothing really look like the inheritors of a lot of pre-Oppo-merger OnePlus staff, and potentially of the company's maverick attitude, as well. Sascha Segan, PCMAG, 8 June 2022 Build Back Better, Biden’s plan for transforming America in a Johnsonian manner, has been stalled by maverick Democrats like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. Idrees Kahloon, The New Yorker, 16 May 2022 His show No Sleep will return this summer, switching to a biannual format so the maverick producer can devote himself to club life full-time. Lee Keeler, SPIN, 10 May 2022 She was aided by the maverick campaign of ultranationalist gadfly Eric Zemmour, whose snarling anti-immigrant, anti-establishment rhetoric has made Le Pen — a far-right mainstay for years — look comparatively moderate.Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Adjective
Samuel A. Maverick †1870 American pioneer who did not brand his calves