variants
also refusnik
as in refuser
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
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 refusenik
Instead, Elam became a refusenik, as conscientious objectors are called in Israel, over his disapproval of the Israel-Hamas war.
—
Jade Walker,
CNN,
25 Mar. 2025
After getting a secret greenlight in March 1990, Mr. Reichmann was aboard his private plane to Lithuania to pick up refusenik Raiz and his son.
—
Brian Murphy,
Washington Post,
10 Jan. 2023
Can the host forbid entry or try to make a refusenik toe the line?
—
Matt Zoller Seitz,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2021
Vaccine mandates by large companies and government agencies, many of them imposed at President Biden’s behest, seem to be working—without vaccine-refusenik workers quitting en masse, as threatened.
—
Susan B. Glasser,
The New Yorker,
1 Oct. 2021
If the refusal to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge was sure to earn the Republican refusenik a potent primary challenge from the right, a denying Trump’s election lies as a gospel truth will likely lead to the same punishment.
—
Alex Shephard,
The New Republic,
7 July 2021
Natan Sharansky has been a computer scientist, a chess player, a refusenik, a dissident, a political prisoner, a party leader, a government minister, a nonprofit executive, and a bestselling author.
—
Matthew Continetti,
National Review,
28 Nov. 2020
Jade Walker,
CNN,
25 Mar. 2025
After getting a secret greenlight in March 1990, Mr. Reichmann was aboard his private plane to Lithuania to pick up refusenik Raiz and his son.
—
Brian Murphy,
Washington Post,
10 Jan. 2023
Can the host forbid entry or try to make a refusenik toe the line?
—
Matt Zoller Seitz,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2021
Vaccine mandates by large companies and government agencies, many of them imposed at President Biden’s behest, seem to be working—without vaccine-refusenik workers quitting en masse, as threatened.
—
Susan B. Glasser,
The New Yorker,
1 Oct. 2021
If the refusal to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge was sure to earn the Republican refusenik a potent primary challenge from the right, a denying Trump’s election lies as a gospel truth will likely lead to the same punishment.
—
Alex Shephard,
The New Republic,
7 July 2021
Natan Sharansky has been a computer scientist, a chess player, a refusenik, a dissident, a political prisoner, a party leader, a government minister, a nonprofit executive, and a bestselling author.
—
Matthew Continetti,
National Review,
28 Nov. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for refusenik
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.
Noun
-
The second is one of widening discontent in Moscow’s population and the political instability that can bring.
-
At the same time, there have been bubbles of discontent forming within Russia, over the cost of the war and government crackdowns on internet access.
Noun
-
Mahamat Idriss Déby, 42, seized power in Chad after his father, Idriss Déby, was killed fighting rebels in 2021, before winning elections in 2024.
-
The group has been responsible for current President Faustin-Archange Touadéra’s security and for fighting rebel groups.
Cite this Entry
“Refusenik.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/refusenik. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
