dissident

adjective dis·si·dent \ -dənt \

Updated on: 11 Apr 2018

Definition of dissident

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

dissident elements in the armed forces

—

dissident

noun

See dissident defined for kids

Examples of dissident in a Sentence

dissident elements within the Catholic Church

Recent Examples of dissident from the Web

Starting in the late sixties, efforts to monitor enemy combatants abroad and dissident groups at home spurred data-collection efforts such as the Cambridge Project and CONUS Intel, the latter of which led to congressional hearings on privacy.

— sheelah kolhatkar, The New Yorker, "Briefly Noted," 2 Apr. 2018
On his first day, Roizman hung a portrait of dissident poet Josef Brodsky.

— nataliya vasilyeva, The Christian Science Monitor, "Russian mayor urges boycott of upcoming presidential election," 16 Mar. 2018
According to information provided by a dissident Soviet scientist, Novichok is believed to be eight to ten times more powerful than VX or sarin gas.

— sean gallagher, Ars Technica, "NATO leaders unite in blaming Russia for nerve agent attack on ex-spy," 15 Mar. 2018
Loosening union control over dissident workers will not solve all of the multiple conflict of interest problems.

— richard a. epstein, Newsweek, "Is the Supreme Court About to Hobble Labor Unions?," 23 Feb. 2018
Alternatively, maybe Ryan doesn’t want to form a dissident faction against a president who has cut taxes for the rich because he is motivated primarily by low taxes for the rich.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Paul Ryan Is a Trump Lackey for One Reason," 6 Mar. 2018
On January 26, 2008, Joseph Weizenbaum, a famed and dissident computer scientist in his eighties, ascended the dais in Davos for what would be one of his last public appearances.

— jacob silverman, The New Republic, "The generational shift that made tech companies a cultural and political force," 28 Feb. 2018
Michele Emiliano, the governor of the Apulia region and leader of a small dissident faction in Renzi’s party, said the PD should support Di Maio if he will be given a chance to form a government.

— tommaso ebhardt, Bloomberg.com, "Italy’s Five Star Leader May Seek `Grand Coalition'," 25 Feb. 2018
Congress proposed renaming the street on which the Chinese Embassy sits in honor of Liu Xiaobo, the dissident and Nobel laureate who died last year.

— neil macfarquhar, New York Times, "U.S. and Russia Revive Cold-War Game of Provocative Street Names," 12 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dissident.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.