How to Use civil disobedience in a Sentence

civil disobedience

noun
  • In an act of civil disobedience, the family sent its tax money to an antiwar organization.
  • A student organization is encouraging civil disobedience as a way to get the university to change its policies.
  • The attacks could also have been an act of civil disobedience.
    Ivana Kottasová, CNN, 27 July 2024
  • This path demands civil disobedience, public demonstrations and national strikes aimed at a systemic collapse of the regime.
    Reza Pahlavi, WSJ, 15 Aug. 2018
  • The students encouraged supporters to ramp up protests and engage in acts of civil disobedience if Lam ignored the deadline.
    David Pierson, latimes.com, 20 June 2019
  • Still others used acts of nonviolent and even violent civil disobedience.
    Erin Blakemore, National Geographic, 23 May 2019
  • Scattered by the bloody assault, protesters vowed to keep up their campaign, suspending talks and calling for a general strike and civil disobedience.
    Bassam Hatoum and Samy Magdy, chicagotribune.com, 3 June 2019
  • Should religious dissenters necessarily respond to such mandates by lawyering up, or is there sometimes a case for civil disobedience?
    Barton Swaim, WSJ, 21 June 2019
  • University student leaders had earlier huddled and discussed plans for several acts of civil disobedience through the day.
    Natasha Khan, WSJ, 20 June 2019
  • Mere protests and appeals are not enough; extraordinary and resolute actions based on the idea of civil disobedience must be taken immediately.
    Vanessa Gera, The Seattle Times, 20 Aug. 2018
  • The group is part of a worldwide activist network committed to nonviolent civil disobedience as a means to force a conversation on addressing climate change.
    Lucy Diavolo, Teen Vogue, 23 Apr. 2019
  • He was joined by Rep. Steve Toth in his act of civil disobedience.
    Fox News, 8 May 2020
  • And these are just a few of the many countries that saw large demonstrations of civil disobedience this year.
    NBC News, 24 Dec. 2019
  • The group used civil disobedience in the form of shutdowns and protests as a tactic to counter Indian rule.
    NBC News, 2 Sep. 2021
  • After bail was revoked, a judge found Mr. Lai guilty on a pair of civil disobedience charges and sentenced him to 14 months in prison.
    Mark L. Clifford and L. Gordon Crovitz, WSJ, 25 Aug. 2022
  • But as Shafer would soon learn, tiny-home living appealed to more than those with a taste for civil disobedience.
    WIRED, 2 Sep. 2023
  • That this round of civil disobedience will lead to real change.
    Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, 3 June 2020
  • Some fear that a lack of what the Black people in town perceive as justice could result in civil disobedience.
    NBC News, 20 Oct. 2021
  • In the months that followed, millions took to the streets in protest and worked to delegitimize the government through a campaign of civil disobedience.
    Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2021
  • Several labor unions called on their members to walk off the job in a show of civil disobedience.
    Nicholas Bariyo, WSJ, 25 Oct. 2021
  • Has any act of civil disobedience in the U.S. been as impactful in the 21st century?
    Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 28 Oct. 2021
  • Some movie theaters stayed open in an act of civil disobedience.
    Raf Casert, ajc, 27 Dec. 2021
  • More than 40% of all protests involved some civil disobedience, the report said.
    Fox News, 2 Dec. 2020
  • Meanwhile, there is not much the police can do should tactics switch to a campaign of low-level civil disobedience—strikes, sit-ins and so on.
    The Economist, 1 Aug. 2019
  • It could be seen as support for the nationwide strike of state railway workers, who are part of the civil disobedience movement against the coup.
    Fox News, 13 Mar. 2021
  • This is the third time he's been arrested for civil disobedience.
    J. Edward Moreno, azcentral, 14 July 2019
  • The activists want to draw attention on the climate protest by blocking roads and with other acts of civil disobedience in Berlin and other cities around the world.
    Geir Moulson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Oct. 2019
  • Others say protests and civil disobedience will be more fruitful than the electoral process.
    Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 6 July 2021
  • Alongside the protests, a civil disobedience campaign of strikes has paralysed large parts of the economy.
    NBC News, 30 Mar. 2021
  • Thinking Ethical hacking: saving society with computer code As a form of civil disobedience, hacking can help make the world a better place.
    Big Think, 24 June 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'civil disobedience.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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