subversive 1 of 2

noun

Definition of subversivenext
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

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subversive

2 of 2

adjective

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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for subversive
  1. rebel
  2. violent
  3. insurgent
  4. revolutionary
  5. anarchist
Noun
  • Wednesday’s surprise attack marks the first significant conflagration between Syrian rebels and the regime since March 2020, when Russia and Turkey mediated a ceasefire agreement in the country.
    Eyad Kourdi, CNN, 27 Nov. 2024
  • In winter 1986, amid a 10-year-long conflict between Soviet forces and mujahedeen rebels, a bomb destroyed his family’s home in the suburbs of Kabul, Afghanistan.
    Bayliss Wagner, Austin American-Statesman, 24 Nov. 2024
Definition of rebel
Adjective
  • The director, Lumumba Sayers, is now in jail awaiting trial for first-degree murder. $2.7 million in taxpayer dollars went to sober living facilities led by a mixed martial arts fighter with a violent criminal record.
    John Frank, Axios, 5 Dec. 2024
  • But witnesses to significant events, especially violent ones, are not given the option to stay silent.
    Bekah Waalkes, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2024
Definition of violent
Noun
  • Assad's government has continued to express confidence in its ability to mount a counterattack against the rebels with the aid of its allies, including Russia, whose warplanes continue to strike insurgents.
    Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2024
  • The insurgents raided large arsenals abandoned by the SAA.
    Brady Knox, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 6 Dec. 2024
Definition of insurgent
Adjective
  • In 1961, the CIA was planning the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba to topple Fidel Castro’s revolutionary government, but the Joint Chiefs of Staff considered the chance of success to be just 30 percent—that is, a 70 percent chance of failure.
    David Spiegelhalter, WIRED, 1 Dec. 2024
  • There’s a point near the start of Che Guevara’s classic travelogue The Motorcycle Diaries when the young Marxist revolutionary crosses from his native Argentina into the unknown wilderness of Chilean Patagonia.
    Mark Johanson, Robb Report, 30 Nov. 2024
Definition of revolutionary
Noun
  • Their dilemmas evoke our disregard of the vacancy in Antifa anarchists and our encouragement of gender dysphoria.
    Armond White, National Review, 25 Sep. 2024
  • Oh, and Josh and CJ meet with some crazy mapmakers, and Toby hangs out with anarchists. 50.
    Matthew Jackson, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2024
Definition of anarchist
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near subversive

subversions

subversive

subversives

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Cite this Entry

“Subversive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subversive. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.

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More from Merriam-Webster on subversive

Nglish: Translation of subversive for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of subversive for Arabic Speakers

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