as in dissenting
deviating from commonly accepted beliefs or practices
dissident elements within the Catholic Church
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in dissenter
a person who believes, teaches, or advocates something opposed to accepted beliefs
the conference drew political dissidents of every ilk
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dissident
Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 8 Aug. 2025
When an unexpected request comes from a dissident singer in hiding, his solitude and routine is broken — and so is to an extent his passivity.
—Callum McLennan, Variety, 7 Aug. 2025
Kate O'Flaherty, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Fleeing persecution in this little schoolhouse, we were suddenly transformed into renegades, dissidents.
—Chandler Fritz, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dissident
Adjective
Faraj Sarkohi, a dissident writer in exile, told me that the revolutionary and Islamist pasts of people such as Tajzadeh and Mousavi could present obstacles to winning the trust of secular Iranians today.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 8 Aug. 2025
When an unexpected request comes from a dissident singer in hiding, his solitude and routine is broken — and so is to an extent his passivity.
—Callum McLennan, Variety, 7 Aug. 2025
Noun
In the past, spyware has been used against dissidents, journalists and public sector workers — as well as businesses operating in certain sectors.
—Kate O'Flaherty, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Fleeing persecution in this little schoolhouse, we were suddenly transformed into renegades, dissidents.
—Chandler Fritz, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dissident
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissident
Adjective
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Board member Renee Paschall cast the lone dissenting vote on the final package.—
Elizabeth Sander,
San Antonio Express-News,
19 Aug. 2022
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The document runs to more than a hundred and fifty pages, and for each question there are affirmative and dissenting studies, as well as some that indicate mixed results.—
The New Yorker,
The New Yorker,
3 June 2022
Noun
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If Homelander's takeover of the United States government and rounding up of his chief dissenters took place around Inauguration Day in January, Godolkin University's fall semester kicks off around the end of August.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
27 Aug. 2025
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Though the five-justice majority agreed that’s true for the grant cancellations, Barrett agreed with the dissenters that a separate part of Young’s ruling wiping NIH guidance documents could still stand.—
Zach Schonfeld,
The Hill,
21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Hiring him would be the most conventional aspect of a very unconventional media strategy.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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With an unconventional research approach, a new screenwriter and an unestablished director, so much of the film was a leap of faith.—
Paul Fitzgerald,
Rolling Stone,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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As a result, work in the Texas House, including the passage of several bills unrelated to redistricting, ground to a halt and arrest warrants were issued for the renegade lawmakers, though these couldn't be enforced outside Texas.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Aug. 2025
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VCs raining money on said brilliant renegades, despite signals that the market wasn’t quite mature enough and money was being lit on fire?—
Cortney Harding,
Forbes.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The design was by aviation legend Burt Rutan, known for his bold and often maverick creations.—
Jacopo Prisco,
CNN,
27 Jan. 2023
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Sinema has modeled her political approach on the maverick style of the late Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who alienated the grassroots of his party by sometimes crossing the aisle to work with Democrats.—
Time,
Time,
23 Jan. 2023
Adjective
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Over the past two years, he’s partnered with a brilliant crop of iconoclastic directors who have reimagined many of his signature shows in radical ways.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
13 Aug. 2025
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An eight-time Grammy winner, Palmieri took both an iconoclastic and professorial approach to his music, striving for perfection through various means and genres.—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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These statements were heretical in Athens, where Anaxagoras lived.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
20 Aug. 2025
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Although the French and Italian religious authorities welcomed their piety, those in Germany tended to suppress them as heretical and revolutionary.—
Michael Robbins,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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His call was backed by some opposition groups in exile as well as some separatist groups within the country, but the Islamic Republic has stood firm.—
Tom O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Aug. 2025
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Territory Territory has been a main source of conflict between the two countries since Russia's annexation of Crimea and fomentation of separatist revolt in eastern Ukraine in 2014.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
14 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dissident.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissident. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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