break with tradition

noun, verb — 2 senses

break with tradition

noun
1

A deviation from established practices or traditions.

  • The first [phase] calls for leaders impatient with the past, and temperamentally disposed to an irreverent break with tradition. They must be agitators who can fan the flames of discontent and gather forces with the strength to tear down the old.1996, Seymour R. Kesten, Utopian Episodes:
  • The break with tradition that Francis, who has died aged 88 after suffering from double pneumonia, represented even managed to trump the shock value of the resignation of Benedict, who was the first pope for 600 years to take that option rather than die in office. Immediately, Bergoglio signalled unambiguously that he intended to be a different kind of pope, one for the 21st century.2025 April 21, Peter Stanford, “Pope Francis obituary”, in The Guardian:

break with tradition

verb
1

To deviate from established practices or traditions.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.