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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.
Synonyms
Examples of maverick in a Sentence
Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal, 28–29 June 2008
In 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 2002
This, 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
Adjective
Occasionally nerves and veins take maverick pathways and show up in unexpected places.
—Virginia Holman, Double Take, Winter 2002
Later 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, 1999
He 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.
Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Oct. 2024
Bringing in bigger names from outside the club also carries a greater degree of risk — unorthodox, maverick methods tend to make for an awkward fit.
—James McNicholas, The Athletic, 7 Aug. 2024
Jacopo Prisco, CNN, 27 Jan. 2023
Sinema has modeled her political approach on the maverick style of the late Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who alienated the grassroots of his party by sometimes crossing the aisle to work with Democrats.
—Time, 23 Jan. 2023
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Cite this Entry
“Maverick.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maverick. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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