as in rebel
someone who tries to overthrow or undermine a governing power
They were outted as subversives and exiled from the country.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in violent
seeking to overthrow or undermine a governing power
A subversive organization determined to unseat a leader who they believed operated outside the law.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subversive
Noun
-
Ooh, rendezvous with the hot rebel in the forest! 50.—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
21 Mar. 2025 -
Aiding the princess is a band of rebels led by the dashing Jonathan (Tony winner Andrew Burnap).—
Patrick Gomez,
EW.com,
21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Two weeks ago, a protest by retirees, joined by soccer fans and members of social and political organizations, ended in a violent clash between police and protesters.—
Manuela Castro,
CNN Money,
29 Mar. 2025
-
Fast-talking criminals, boxing matches, violent action sequences, car charases, and notable stars (Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren, and Pierce Brosnan) are all present and accounted for.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
29 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Warfare plots, in real time, a surveillance mission in Ramadi gone awry when nearby Al Qaeda insurgents detonate a series of IEDs outside a housing building which the team has taken over.—
Gregory Nussen,
Deadline,
28 Mar. 2025
-
The sniper gun is peering through an eight-inch-wide hole blasted into the wall, and the insurgents, having figured out that the Americans are in there, toss a grenade through the hole.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Celebrated annually on March 26, Air Max Day was established in 2014 to honor the debut of Nike’s revolutionary Air Max technology.—
Tiana Randall,
Forbes.com,
29 Mar. 2025
-
Then, Netanyahu was attempting something revolutionary and unpopular and also had to worry about public pressure fracturing his coalition at the outset of his term.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
And the Shelton factory would not have been on even the most inept anarchist’s to-hit list.—
Jody Mamone,
Hartford Courant,
2 Mar. 2025
-
The plutocrats and anarchists of the Gilded Age The novelist who explored the edges of normalcy Play/Pause Button Pause If current trends hold, each generation in Korea will be a third the size of the previous one.—
Hannah Jocelyn,
The New Yorker,
25 Feb. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Subversive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subversive. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share