variants
also dissention
1
as in discord
a lack of agreement or harmony
religious dissension threatened to split the colony
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in controversy
variance of opinion on a matter
continued dissension among historians on the exact spot of Columbus's first landing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dissension
In 1988, Parr joined Magnum Photos as an associate member and was admitted as a full member in 1994, achieving the necessary two-thirds majority by a single vote, owing to dissension among the ranks as to whether his work was too avant-garde to be considered documentary.
—
News Desk, Artforum, 15 Dec. 2025
Ken Burns’ latest work takes us back to a moment of great dissension and division, a moment in which Americans raged against the monarch leading them and in which any outcome seemed possible.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 14 Nov. 2025
The letter is an important show of support after there was some dissension among conference leaders.
—Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
Carney has committed to a major expansion of the Canadian energy sector after almost a decade of dissension between energy producers and Ottawa.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dissension
News Desk, Artforum, 15 Dec. 2025
Ken Burns’ latest work takes us back to a moment of great dissension and division, a moment in which Americans raged against the monarch leading them and in which any outcome seemed possible.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 14 Nov. 2025
The letter is an important show of support after there was some dissension among conference leaders.
—Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
Carney has committed to a major expansion of the Canadian energy sector after almost a decade of dissension between energy producers and Ottawa.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dissension
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissension
Noun
-
The proposal has sparked Democratic discord ahead of 2026’s governor’s race, though neither billionaire has explicitly blamed the effort for their actions.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Celebrate with an activity that allows for big release of energies, something athletic or competitive; a sedentary pleasure could lead to discord.—
Magi Helena,
Dallas Morning News,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The San Francisco native has been surrounded by controversy for many years, with global scrutiny and media coverage reaching a fever pitch during her 2022 Olympics debut in Beijing.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
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Last year’s festival, the first under Tuttle’s leadership, was largely free of such controversies.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Beyond the looming labor strife, the regional sports network (RSN) model has been floundering for many teams.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Feb. 2026
-
The film vaguely follows the basic outline of the first half of the novel, heavily streamlining the twisted tale of family strife and generational trauma into a more conventional tragic romance centered squarely on Catherine and Heathcliff.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
When disputes arise, most can be kept behind closed doors.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
21 Feb. 2026
-
The top pros were held out of the last two Winter Olympics, in 2018 over a dispute between the players and the IOC, and in 2022 because of COVID-19 interruptions in scheduling.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Britain had split the Chagos Islands from Mauritius before that colony gained independence, something that has been a source of diplomatic friction as well as multiple legal battles with locals who were evicted.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
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But a reoccurring point of friction and, really, anger on my part is over the dishwashing and laundry at our house.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Washington Post,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
According to him, advances in machine learning have yanked questions once trapped inside theological/philosophical disputations into corporate board packs.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Aug. 2025
-
Jake is a single father who has brought Kristen up in the severe Calvinist tradition, marked by Bible disputations of Talmudic intricacy and by a radical detachment from secular and popular culture.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2023
Noun
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His party successfully capitalized on rising nationalism fueled by a deadly border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia last year, economic woes and uncertainty over Thailand’s trade relationship with the United States, and built up a strong local support base.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Units often operate across wider areas than in past conflicts.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Advertisement Hours before Andrew’s arrest, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was asked if a debate over the royal, and his connections to Epstein, could still take place.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
20 Feb. 2026
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Sappy, sure, but better than this faux-Kantian debate about what’s real or not real.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dissension.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissension. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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