1
as in discord
a lack of agreement or harmony
considerable dissent within the party's rank and file
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dissidence
departure from a generally accepted theory, opinion, or practice
the church reacted to any form of dissent by promptly excommunicating its proponents
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to disagree
to have a different opinion
anyone who dissented was encouraged to speak out while they had the chance
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dissent
ABC News, 28 Mar. 2026
The conviction of Souhaib Qabli, known as L7assal, is part of Morocco’s escalating crackdown on young musicians and activists voicing dissent, despite constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression.
—Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2026
Julie Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, some staff members, other career officials say, are afraid to voice dissenting views for fear of being fired.
—Avi Asher-Schapiro, ProPublica, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dissent
Noun
Yet certain types of speech can still trigger criminal charges, and Morocco has seen tightening restrictions on dissent, including against journalists and activists.
—ABC News, 28 Mar. 2026
The conviction of Souhaib Qabli, known as L7assal, is part of Morocco’s escalating crackdown on young musicians and activists voicing dissent, despite constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression.
—Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2026
Verb
Colin, the mayor, was one of the dissenting voters.
—Julie Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, some staff members, other career officials say, are afraid to voice dissenting views for fear of being fired.
—Avi Asher-Schapiro, ProPublica, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dissent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissent
Noun
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Multitracked saxophones swarm over a pit of molten bass frequencies, slipping between sentimental consonance—you might momentarily be reminded of Vangelis’ Blade Runner score—and eerie discord.—
Philip Sherburne,
Pitchfork,
25 Mar. 2026
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But their top officials do not always agree, and some say the discord has hurt how well the agencies can serve patients and led the call center to repeatedly misjudge the severity of some calls.—
Jenny Gathright,
Washington Post,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Given that women in other countries do wear lipstick as an act of resistance today, suggesting that American feminists did so in 1912 conflates their wildly different cultural contexts, and blurs one’s sense of what constitutes public dissidence.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Feb. 2026
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The dissidence of Minneapolis reminds me of the Argentinian mothers who found themselves in an impossible situation during the military junta of the late 1970s.—
Gal Beckerman,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Frankie Olivieri was sure of that, even if his father disagreed.—
Danielle Paquette,
Washington Post,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Anthropic claims it is being shut out of government contracts for disagreeing with the administration and argues the legal principles at stake affect every federal contractor whose views the government dislikes.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In providing that space for both music and wellness, sound healing brings audiences into a collective world for escape from both the external strife of the world and their own messy interiority.—
Britt Julious,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Mar. 2026
-
This has actually caused a lot of internal strife within the community.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Any challenge to gun rights was immediate heresy, disqualifying in any measure.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
26 Jan. 2026
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When something is so embedded in our routines, even a small shift can feel like heresy.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Intensifying intraparty friction isn't likely to help with that effort.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2026
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One point of friction is a gimmick that California and other states use to maximize federal funds — special taxes on health care providers, which are used to draw down more federal matching payments in return for state promises to offset the taxes with additional reimbursements to providers.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Whether Barbara always had such strong feelings about womanhood or developed them in reaction to her kid’s gender nonconformity is unclear.—
Isle McElroy,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2026
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Similarly, the emphasis on independence and nonconformity reflects what psychologists call autonomy orientation.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Earlier Monday, Turkey's defense ministry announced that the alliance's air defenses deployed in the eastern Mediterranean had, for a fourth time during the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, intercepted an Iranian missile that had entered its airspace.—
Lucia I Suarez Sang,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
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Neither has served in an active military capacity during the current conflict.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dissent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissent. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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