subversion
noun
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Subversion is literally the "turning over" of something. In the 1950s and '60s, many people worried about communist subversion of the U.S. government, though they often saw subversive activities where none existed. Nondemocratic governments often claim that anyone who disagrees with them or joins a demonstration is a subversive. But subversion isn't always quite so serious a matter; when words like weekend, sandwich, job, *and *camping started being used by the French, for example, some of them began claiming that America was subverting their language.
Examples of subversion in a Sentence
David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 17 Oct. 2025
Hall’s subversion of menswear — floppy hats, loose slacks and oversized collared shirts, or a necktie bursting out from the bottom of a waistcoat — was, in many ways, Keaton’s own.
—Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2025
The cameos could be read as objects, pieces conveying a subversion of Victorian values.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2025
In this melancholy-comic subversion of a rags-to-riches story Karl’s empathetic musings about those less fortunate immigrants foreshadow his subsequent downhill trajectory.
—Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subversion
Cite this Entry
“Subversion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subversion. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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