as in dissenters
a person who believes, teaches, or advocates something opposed to accepted beliefs
the conference drew political dissidents of every ilk
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Recent Examples of dissidents
Dark Renaissance will teach you a great deal about Marlowe’s brilliance and the Elizabethan era—its theater, the aristocracy, the spy craft, and the finer points of drawing and quartering religious dissidents.
—
Isaac Butler, The Atlantic, 3 Nov. 2025
So, in a similar way, the actions and the philosophy of the great Eastern European dissidents’ trial might become a lesson to us.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2025
But First … Issue The View from Here During the Cold War, America was a haven for Russian dissidents.
—Air Mail, 25 Oct. 2025
Five other members of the ring were jailed for a total of about 40 years, all accused of gathering detailed information on journalists, dissidents and Ukrainian soldiers being trained at a US military base in Germany.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
Also not fitting the West’s preconceptions was the fact that most Soviet dissidents didn’t reject socialism.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 3 Oct. 2025
But many dissidents felt profoundly ambivalent toward a society that, despite having become better educated and more urbanized, was also more dependent than ever on the state.
—Benjamin Nathans
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Jazz is an art form with an outsized share of mavericks, rebels, and creative dissidents who’ve built careers by blazing their own particular paths.
—Andrew Gilbert, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025
This shift comes as his government intensifies its crackdown on dissidents and opposition leaders, instilling fear among those who might otherwise take to the streets.
—Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 24 Mar. 2025
Isaac Butler, The Atlantic, 3 Nov. 2025
So, in a similar way, the actions and the philosophy of the great Eastern European dissidents’ trial might become a lesson to us.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2025
But First … Issue The View from Here During the Cold War, America was a haven for Russian dissidents.
—Air Mail, 25 Oct. 2025
Five other members of the ring were jailed for a total of about 40 years, all accused of gathering detailed information on journalists, dissidents and Ukrainian soldiers being trained at a US military base in Germany.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
Also not fitting the West’s preconceptions was the fact that most Soviet dissidents didn’t reject socialism.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 3 Oct. 2025
But many dissidents felt profoundly ambivalent toward a society that, despite having become better educated and more urbanized, was also more dependent than ever on the state.
—Benjamin Nathans
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Jazz is an art form with an outsized share of mavericks, rebels, and creative dissidents who’ve built careers by blazing their own particular paths.
—Andrew Gilbert, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025
This shift comes as his government intensifies its crackdown on dissidents and opposition leaders, instilling fear among those who might otherwise take to the streets.
—Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 24 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissidents
dissenters
Noun
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What’s safe for Jews was itself a matter of disagreement among the bill’s backers and dissenters.—
CalMatters,
Mercury News,
14 Oct. 2025
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Jerusalem — On a hot Friday morning in September, dozens of Israelis turned up at Gaza’s border fence – not as soldiers, but as dissenters.—
Zeena Saifi,
CNN Money,
5 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dissidents.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissidents. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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