as in dissenting
deviating from commonly accepted beliefs or practices
dissident elements within the Catholic Church
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in dissenter
a person who believes, teaches, or advocates something opposed to accepted beliefs
the conference drew political dissidents of every ilk
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of dissident
Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 11 Aug. 2025
Faraj Sarkohi, a dissident writer in exile, told me that the revolutionary and Islamist pasts of people such as Tajzadeh and Mousavi could present obstacles to winning the trust of secular Iranians today.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 8 Aug. 2025
Kate O'Flaherty, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Fleeing persecution in this little schoolhouse, we were suddenly transformed into renegades, dissidents.
—Chandler Fritz, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dissident
Adjective
Drawing from her private diaries and thousands of analog photographs, the director charts Jarcovjáková’s life from the dissident art circles of communist Czechoslovakia to high-fashion shoots in Tokyo.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 11 Aug. 2025
Faraj Sarkohi, a dissident writer in exile, told me that the revolutionary and Islamist pasts of people such as Tajzadeh and Mousavi could present obstacles to winning the trust of secular Iranians today.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 8 Aug. 2025
Noun
In the past, spyware has been used against dissidents, journalists and public sector workers — as well as businesses operating in certain sectors.
—Kate O'Flaherty, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Fleeing persecution in this little schoolhouse, we were suddenly transformed into renegades, dissidents.
—Chandler Fritz, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dissident
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissident
Adjective
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Board member Renee Paschall cast the lone dissenting vote on the final package.—
Elizabeth Sander,
San Antonio Express-News,
19 Aug. 2022
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The document runs to more than a hundred and fifty pages, and for each question there are affirmative and dissenting studies, as well as some that indicate mixed results.—
The New Yorker,
The New Yorker,
3 June 2022
Noun
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Yet the unit also targets dissenters and those, including various clans, some backed by Israel, that dare to defy Hamas’s rule.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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If Homelander's takeover of the United States government and rounding up of his chief dissenters took place around Inauguration Day in January, Godolkin University's fall semester kicks off around the end of August.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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There is immense comfort in shared failure; there is immense career risk in an unconventional success that cannot be easily explained to a board.—
Benjamin D. Summers,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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And at last week’s Davis Cup qualifiers, an even weirder extension of the unconventional serve made a high-profile appearance.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The polar figures of 16th-century Italian choral music, Palestrina, the Apollonian master of elegant counterpoint, and Gesualdo, the violent renegade of plangent harmonies, meet on the same program presented by Miller Theater.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
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As a result, work in the Texas House, including the passage of several bills unrelated to redistricting, ground to a halt and arrest warrants were issued for the renegade lawmakers, though these couldn't be enforced outside Texas.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The design was by aviation legend Burt Rutan, known for his bold and often maverick creations.—
Jacopo Prisco,
CNN,
27 Jan. 2023
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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,
Time,
23 Jan. 2023
Adjective
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Her snide answers to their belittling questions are smart and iconoclastic, setting the stage for the other characters in the movie who also think outside the box.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Sep. 2025
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The iconoclastic Eric André will play Don Sauvage, a more recent addition to the Street Fighter franchise who appears as a ring announcer.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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These statements were heretical in Athens, where Anaxagoras lived.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
20 Aug. 2025
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Although the French and Italian religious authorities welcomed their piety, those in Germany tended to suppress them as heretical and revolutionary.—
Michael Robbins,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Is there a political dimension to the cult being so insistently separatist from hearing society?—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
9 Sep. 2025
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Kuah and Wongbi allegedly held leadership roles in the Ambazonia Defense Forces (ADF), a separatist militia seeking to create an independent country in Cameroon, according to the indictment.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dissident.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissident. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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