dissident

adjective

dis·​si·​dent ˈdi-sə-dənt 

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

dissident elements in the armed forces

dissident noun

Synonyms

• dissentient
• dissenting
• heretical
• heretic
• heterodox
• iconoclastic
• maverick
• nonconformist
• nonorthodox
• out-there
• unconventional
• unorthodox

Examples of dissident in a Sentence

dissident elements within the Catholic Church

Recent Examples on the Web

In December a Chechen man was jailed for allegedly carrying out reconnaissance on the offices of a dissident Iranian broadcaster in London. —Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2024

Then, in 2017, FARC dissident factions, led by former FARC members who either never demobilized or rearmed, began to appear. —Elizabeth Dickinson, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2024

The count does not include nonfatal attacks like the March wounding by knife of a journalist for a dissident satellite television channel outside his London apartment. —Karl Vick, TIME, 23 Sep. 2024

Poland’s Law and Justice party lost seats, as did Fidesz in Hungary, where a dissident party member, Peter Magyar, split the vote by forming his own party following a corruption scandal in Fidesz. —Francis Fukuyama, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2024

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

Kids Definition

dissident

adjective

dis·​si·​dent ˈdis-əd-ənt 

: disagreeing with an opinion or a group

dissident noun