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oppositionist

noun

Definition of oppositionistnext
as in challenger

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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 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
  1. challenger
  2. rebel
  3. insurgent
  4. resister
  5. recusant
  6. revolutionist
  7. anarchist
  8. revolutionary
Noun
  • Dereck Counter is the incumbent, while Jacob Boyce is the challenger.
    — Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Security is another top-of-mind issue that favors the challenger, who has promised an approach modeled after El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele.
    — Andre Pagliarini, The Conversation, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of challenger
Noun
  • The charges stemmed from fighting more than a decade ago between the predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels who seized power from then-President François Bozizé, and a mainly Christian militia called the anti-Balaka.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Sep. 2026
  • In the south, an array of militias and armed groups arose over the years, ostensibly to back the government against the rebels.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of rebel
Noun
  • The latest operation came just over a week after Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti ruled out negotiations with insurgents and said security operations would continue until militancy was eliminated from the province.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Hundreds joined the insurgents that day, and their numbers soon swelled into the thousands.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Sep. 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
  • The uniform of the conformist — sports shirt, cardigan, tennis shoes — is as easily recognized as that of the recusant — dirty white T, sideburns, two days’ growth of beard.
    — Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, 15 July 2019
Definition of recusant
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
  • There are groups of radical environmentalists and anarchists who embrace him, and Luigi Mangione gave the Unabomber Manifesto a four-star review on Goodreads.
    — Rachel Corbett, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Woody is prone to meandering and hippy-dippy monologues, as a weed-loving anarchist.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of anarchist
Noun
  • Exiled revolutionaries needed somewhere to go, as did poorer residents who were hoping the revolution would improve conditions.
    — Blaise Mesa, jsonline.com, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The series follows an exiled revolutionary forced to return to Uruguay and confront his past.
    — Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of revolutionary

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Cite this Entry

“Oppositionist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oppositionist. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

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