1
as in discords
a lack of agreement or harmony
considerable dissent within the party's rank and file
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in heresies
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 disagrees
to have a different opinion
anyone who dissented was encouraged to speak out while they had the chance
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dissents
Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2026
Four of the conservative justices have already issued dissents asserting these laws are unconstitutional.
—Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2026
The state Supreme Court upheld the provision 5-2 along party lines, with dissents coming from the two Republican justices, David Overstreet and Lisa Holder White.
—Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 13 Jan. 2026
The court’s four liberal justices at the time joined him over the other conservative justices’ dissents; Trump has since appointed Justice Amy Coney Barrett to replace former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, tilting the court further in conservatives’ favor.
—Zach Schonfeld, The Hill, 12 Jan. 2026
The seventh and senior justice, Jorge Labarga, born in Cuba and raised in Pahokee, will continue to write solitary dissents.
—Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 9 Jan. 2026
The seventh and senior justice, Jorge Labarga, born in Cuba and raised in Pahokee, will continue to write solitary dissents.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
It was approved by a 9-3 vote – the most dissents since 2019.
—Sean Conlon,elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 2 Jan. 2026
One of the most blistering dissents came in an emergency order allowing Texas to use its newly redrawn congressional map for the 2026 elections.
—Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 1 Jan. 2026
Noun
The internal rift at the Fed remains unresolved since December’s meeting, which produced the most formal dissents at the Fed since 2019.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2026
Four of the conservative justices have already issued dissents asserting these laws are unconstitutional.
—Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2026
The state Supreme Court upheld the provision 5-2 along party lines, with dissents coming from the two Republican justices, David Overstreet and Lisa Holder White.
—Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 13 Jan. 2026
The court’s four liberal justices at the time joined him over the other conservative justices’ dissents; Trump has since appointed Justice Amy Coney Barrett to replace former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, tilting the court further in conservatives’ favor.
—Zach Schonfeld, The Hill, 12 Jan. 2026
The seventh and senior justice, Jorge Labarga, born in Cuba and raised in Pahokee, will continue to write solitary dissents.
—Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 9 Jan. 2026
The seventh and senior justice, Jorge Labarga, born in Cuba and raised in Pahokee, will continue to write solitary dissents.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
It was approved by a 9-3 vote – the most dissents since 2019.
—Sean Conlon,elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 2 Jan. 2026
One of the most blistering dissents came in an emergency order allowing Texas to use its newly redrawn congressional map for the 2026 elections.
—Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 1 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissents
Noun
-
Your dedicated Slack channels, private discords and endless Reddit threads.—
April Uchitel,
Flow Space,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Doar disagrees, saying that permit-to-carry holders have every right to carry a firearm at a protest.—
Jeff Wagner,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
That, however, is where Camarda — who also attended the January 8 meeting at NASA headquarters — disagrees.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
By April, new tariffs and trade frictions triggered some of the most significant trade actions in decades.—
Joe Ngai,
Fortune,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Trade and diplomatic frictions aside, Japanese companies are positive on business growth, with the Bank of Japan’s Tankan survey showing that sentiment among Japanese companies mostly improved in the fourth quarter, especially among small manufacturers.—
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
17 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Political schisms deepened and common ground collapsed.—
Scottie Andrew,
CNN Money,
17 Jan. 2026
-
The right’s schisms were on full display during AmericaFest, Turning Point USA’s annual conference, which took place in Phoenix this past weekend.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
22 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Compared to conflicts involving major powers since World War II, Moscow’s losses are staggering.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Geopolitical tensions, from ongoing conflicts to trade frictions, add fuel to gold’s safe-haven appeal.—
Sean Lee,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
When teams have not been rigorously tested in realistic, high-pressure environments, automation can become a force multiplier for errors.—
James Hadley,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Gauff hit zero winners and compiled 11 unforced errors in the set.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Or perhaps that is the concern conjured by the hysteria of Y2K—with its fads of fears pumped by a skepticism over technology and wars people could not hold so freshly after the recession of the early 1990s.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Russia’s losses in Ukraine are five times higher than its total losses from all Russian and Soviet wars since World War II combined, including the Afghanistan war and two Chechen wars, the report says.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Think of them like a referee of sorts—someone who can make official calls when questions or disputes come up.—
Cori Sears,
Better Homes & Gardens,
29 Jan. 2026
-
For hours, in the suffocating heat, Dooley sifted through endless accounts of mundane colonial matters—church records, itemizations, legal disputes, petty complaints.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dissents.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissents. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
