dissident

dis·si·dent

adj \-dənt\

Definition of DISSIDENT

: disagreeing especially with an established religious or political system, organization, or belief

— dissident noun

Examples of DISSIDENT

1. <dissident elements within the Catholic Church>

Origin of DISSIDENT

Latin dissident-, dissidens, present participle of dissidēre to sit apart, disagree, from dis- + sedēre to sit — more at sit

First Known Use: 1769

Related to DISSIDENT

Synonyms: dissentient, dissenting, heretical, heterodox, iconoclastic, maverick, nonconformist, nonorthodox, out-there, unconventional, unorthodox

Antonyms: conforming, conformist, conventional, orthodox

Related Words: free-spirited, freethinking, nontraditional; apostate, defecting, renegade; schismatic (also schismatical), sectarian, separatist

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Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism