OPPOSITIONIST Synonyms: 28 Similar and Opposite Words

oppositionist

noun

Definition of oppositionist

as in challenger

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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 oppositionist Yesterday, in an effort to galvanize democratic forces, oppositionists announced the foundation of the Strategic Council of Republicans Inside Iran. — Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 1 Mar. 2026 Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is a Sunni Islamist umbrella group of oppositionist forces with ideological and organizational roots in al-Qaeda. — Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024 Within Russia, the oppositionists’ challenges are far greater. — Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2024 Characteristically, Navalny tried to buck up his fellow oppositionists. — The Editors, National Review, 16 Feb. 2024

Recent Examples of Synonyms for oppositionist

Noun

Ethan O’Connor seems well positioned for one of those jobs, and the prime challengers for the other are Damari Brown (whose availability is always a question because of the troublesome foot issue) and impressive second-year player Ja’boree Antoine.

— Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 21 July 2026
His leading challenger is Daniel Keenan, a construction-company founder and a former forklift operator.

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 21 July 2026

Definition of challenger

Noun

The Houthi rebels have long been backed by Iran and reviled by Saudi Arabia.

— Chris Lau, CNN Money, 26 July 2026
Further complicating exports, Yemen's Houthi rebels are now disrupting shipping in the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, targeting Saudi tankers and threatening an alternative oil route.

— Gaurav Sharma, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026

Definition of rebel

Noun

The attack occurred in Mastung, a district in Balochistan province where separatist insurgents have stepped up attacks on security forces and civilians in recent months.

— ABC News, ABC News, 23 July 2026
One of the insurgents, a doctoral student in sociology named Darializa Avila Chevalier, is far more emblematic of the DSA’s radicalism.

— James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026

Definition of insurgent

Noun

In November 1971, Berkeley, California, became the first sanctuary city in the country when 12 local churches inspired the City Council to pass a resolution offering sanctuary to draft resisters.

— Menika Dirkson, The Conversation, 8 Apr. 2026
Clemson resister Dabo Swinney has driven his program into the ground.

— Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026

Definition of resister

Noun

As the head of China’s Nationalist government, Chiang and his party were trying to establish control in a nation divided among revolutionists, nationalists, Indigenous warlords, and a developing communist army and government.

— Susan Tate Ankeny, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Apr. 2024
Many revolutionists see heavy tank casualties in Ukraine as the key indicator for the tank’s looming obsolescence in the face of newly lethal precision antitank weapons.

— Stephen Biddle, Foreign Affairs, 10 Aug. 2023

Definition of revolutionist

Noun

Indeed, antisemitisms prove that a society can hold contradictory images simultaneously, such as the fact that the Jews are both anarchists out to destroy capitalism as well as capitalists out to exploit the working class.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 July 2026
The film follows Lena (Lena Trifunović), an anarchist student active in Belgrade’s anti-government movement, and Stefan (Andrija Krivokapić), a working-class youth who finds himself, almost by chance, among pro-government loyalists.

— Leo Barraclough, Variety, 23 July 2026

Definition of anarchist

Noun

The monarchy was overthrown in the February Revolution of 1917, and the tsar and his family became prisoners of the revolutionaries.

— Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 July 2026
The original Jacobins were the most radical faction of the French revolutionaries.

— David Brooks, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026

Definition of revolutionary

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“Oppositionist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oppositionist. Accessed 1 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of oppositionist

noun

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