A person who destroys, damages, or shows contempt for books; one who practices biblioclasm.
From Greek 'biblion' (book) plus 'klastes' (breaker). This agent noun directly parallels 'iconoclast' (image-breaker) and emerged as a term for those who destroyed written works through violence, censorship, or neglect.
Famous biblioclasts include Nazis burning books, religious zealots destroying 'heretical' texts, and colonial powers destroying Indigenous written records. The term captures how destroying information is a form of power—it's not just vandalism, it's erasing what people can know.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.