as in rebellion
refusal to obey laws as a way of forcing the government to do or change something
In an act of civil disobedience, the family sent its tax money to an antiwar organization. A student organization is encouraging civil disobedience as a way to get the university to change its policies.
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Recent Examples of civil disobedience
In practice, that means some borrowers working at nonprofits focused on immigration rights, civil disobedience advocacy, climate action, or other causes could find their employment disqualified from PSLF.
—
Shahar Ziv, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
Conflicts are won by street mobilization and civil disobedience, until conservative governments overreact and spark a backlash.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 13 June 2025
The depth, scope, and duration of the recent protests are new: the demonstrators fused their street protests with organized boycotts of pro-Erdogan businesses, online activism, and civil disobedience.
—Henri J. Barkey, Foreign Affairs, 29 May 2025
An act of civil disobedience includes sitting on a public road to block traffic.
—Angela Rodriguez, Sacbee.com, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil disobedience
Shahar Ziv, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
Conflicts are won by street mobilization and civil disobedience, until conservative governments overreact and spark a backlash.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 13 June 2025
The depth, scope, and duration of the recent protests are new: the demonstrators fused their street protests with organized boycotts of pro-Erdogan businesses, online activism, and civil disobedience.
—Henri J. Barkey, Foreign Affairs, 29 May 2025
An act of civil disobedience includes sitting on a public road to block traffic.
—Angela Rodriguez, Sacbee.com, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil disobedience
Recent Examples of Synonyms for civil disobedience
Noun
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Jefferson’s Democratic-Republicans, by contrast, advanced a more limited vision of federal governance, including a revenue system that relied heavily on tariffs and not at all on internal taxes (like the controversial excise on whiskey that sparked the eponymous rebellion).—
Joseph Thorndike,
Forbes.com,
21 July 2025
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To be clear, not all teens are taking part in some sort of mass rebellion by staring us down.—
Melissa Willets,
Parents,
17 July 2025
Noun
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When his latest work is once again denied permission by the Ministry of Culture, the censorship pushes him to the edge of defiance.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
25 July 2025
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For many women, something as simple as buying a bikini becomes an act of defiance.—
Cheryl Robinson,
Forbes.com,
25 July 2025
Noun
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While declarations have been made in the past regarding our city having a sanctuary status, there have been no clear directives toward local law enforcement regarding noncooperation with federal agencies such as ICE.—
Scott Wartman,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
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These movements used many different tools at their disposal — lawsuits, mass rallies, strikes, work slowdowns, boycotts and other forms of noncooperation and resistance.—
David Brooks,
Mercury News,
23 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Civil disobedience.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/civil%20disobedience. Accessed 31 Jul. 2025.
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