dissident

adjective

dis·​si·​dent ˈdi-sə-dənt How to pronounce dissident (audio)
: disagreeing especially with an established religious or political system, organization, or belief
dissident elements in the armed forces
dissident noun

Examples of dissident in a Sentence

dissident elements within the Catholic Church
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Human rights in Russia will suffer if the surveillance of dissident activity ramps up, and those seeking alternative means of communicating will stand out even more as regime-threatening anomalies. Justin Sherman, The Atlantic, 11 Oct. 2025 Tucker Carlson, the one-time cable news king now moonlighting as a dissident podcaster, has evinced an unhealthy obsession with the Jewish people and the state of Israel. Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025 This is the second year running that a European country has nominated a film from an Iranian dissident director for the Academy Awards. Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2025 He had been involved in dissident circles since his student days, in the nineties. Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for dissident

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1769, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dissident was in 1769

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dissident.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dissident. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

dissident

adjective
dis·​si·​dent ˈdis-əd-ənt How to pronounce dissident (audio)
: disagreeing with an opinion or a group
dissident noun

More from Merriam-Webster on dissident

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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