as in insurrections
secret efforts to weaken or ruin a political system or government from within
They were arrested on charges of political subversion.
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Recent Examples of subversions
The lack of any real surprises or subversions along the way can be a drag, making the Prime Video miniseries feel a bit padded even at a relatively trim six hour-long episodes.
—
Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2025
The full-shearling texture and whimsical proportions are signature ERL — a brand known for its playful subversions of everyday silhouettes.
—Tiana Randall, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Such subversions can be seen as the story pivots from one twist to another and one surprise to the next.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 14 Aug. 2025
Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2025
The full-shearling texture and whimsical proportions are signature ERL — a brand known for its playful subversions of everyday silhouettes.
—Tiana Randall, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Such subversions can be seen as the story pivots from one twist to another and one surprise to the next.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subversions
Noun
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Wars and insurrections have afflicted other parts of the Middle East, but Baghdad—a city whose name was once synonymous with suicide bombings and sectarian murder—has been spared.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
28 Oct. 2025
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The president can also legally invoke the military under the Insurrection Act, which allows troops to be deployed in order to curb insurrections.—
Alison Durkee,
Forbes.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Worth about $5 million, the Chew Valley Hoard is believed to have been hidden for safekeeping nearly 1,000 years ago, as Saxon rebellions against William the Conqueror roiled England; just under half of the 2,584 coins feature the last Anglo-Saxon king Harold II.—
Brendan Ruberry,
semafor.com,
3 Dec. 2025
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While the sicko elites bask in the violence, Kawaji sees the Kodoku as a means of exterminating the remaining samurai, who have staged multiple rebellions against the Japanese empire.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
14 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The society’s equilibrium has been profoundly disrupted and can easily tip into escalating popular revolts and open elite resistance, producing a revolution.—
Karim Sadjadpour,
The Atlantic,
10 Jan. 2026
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The result was that, where earlier fiscal crises had been met by waves of municipal-level revolts against mainstream economic policies, New York witnessed no such revolts in the 1970s.—
Daniel Wortel-London,
Washington Post,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Yet as neat and tidy as this sounds, such revolutions — especially those supported by outside interference — rarely proceed tidily.—
Robert Muggah,
Fortune,
5 Jan. 2026
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The talk will encompass later American revolutions which related directly to principles expounded on in the Declaration of Independence such as abolition and women’s suffrage and civil rights.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
4 Jan. 2026
Noun
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On what makes current protests different Pahlavi also spoke about how the current protests, which were sparked last month by the collapse of the country's currency, are different from past uprisings.—
Caitlin Yilek,
CBS News,
12 Jan. 2026
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Middle East efforts In Bulgaria, Mladenov held the position of defense minister for a year, before serving as foreign minister from 2010-13, during the uprisings in the Middle East known as the Arab Spring when Syria also descended into civil war.—
Veselin Toshkov,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subversions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subversions. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
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