as in debate
variance of opinion on a matter
a democracy relies on dissensus as much as on consensus
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Recent Examples of dissensus
These dramas of politics — each involving the high court’s first black justice — arrive at a singularly contentious political moment in an atmosphere of angry, sometimes violent dissensus.
—
Manohla Dargis and A.o. Scott, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2017
Manohla Dargis and A.o. Scott, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissensus
Noun
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The debate was framed by a series of incidents in recent years in which the local Police Department was accused of profiling Black people.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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The size of the divide appeared significant during Thursday's debate.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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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
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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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Anderson has countersued and accused Burkle of smearing his reputation amid a separate business dispute.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
6 Mar. 2026
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Burkle alleges that Anderson stopped paying him in 2014 after becoming angry with him over an unspecified personal dispute, the complaint states.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, facing a historically slim GOP majority in the chamber, has only cautiously touched on the controversy in recent weeks.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
5 Mar. 2026
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To say Born’s win was mired in controversy would be an understatement.—
Kevin Dotson,
CNN Money,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Hegseth’s harsh punishment is the culmination of a long, slow slide that began with a political disagreement.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
28 Feb. 2026
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Much of the disagreement centers on Iran’s insistence on enriching uranium on its own soil.—
Abbas Al Lawati,
CNN Money,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dissensus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissensus. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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