subversions

noun

plural of subversion
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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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 subversions Although the movie eventually loses steam (a side effect of its subversions of the genre, while using Ilyas’s awkward outsidership as an aesthetic North Star), Khan traces the care with which his characters try to chart invisible social lines. — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 5 Aug. 2026 And because of that canon, Tapert and Raimi are there to ensure that any subversions don’t go too far astray. — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026 In my fiction, my grandfather was no longer an inscrutable ghost, but a character with definable flaws, who did things in an order that, despite whatever twists and subversions, resolved into meaning. — Literary Hub, 10 June 2026 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 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
  1. insurrections
  2. rebellions
  3. revolts
  4. revolutions
  5. uprisings
Noun
  • There were rebellions, insurrections and an Appian Way lined with crucifixions.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
  • But the regime, besieged by insurrections across the country, abandoned Manbij.
    — Anand Gopal, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
Definition of insurrections
Noun
  • In several instances these rituals were utilized during slave rebellions; the New York slave rebellion of 1712 reportedly began with a pact sealed in blood and powder, a practice with African religious parallels.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026
  • That history includes colonial-era rebellions, using drones to monitor land invasions for legal ecological complaints, and protests against new or proposed laws.
    — Chenier Carpio Opua, The Conversation, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of rebellions
Noun
  • Donor revolts—growing widespread skepticism toward higher education.
    — Scott White, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • The Chumash rebelled in 1824, the latest in a chain of Native Californian revolts against the friars.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 29 July 2026
Definition of revolts
Noun
  • From the viewpoint of the bourgeoisie, both Jews and the aristocracy advocated revolutions and radical change, and thus both attacked the status quo.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The revolutions created by Nazi and Stalinist ideology, and enforced by terror, aimed to change reality itself.
    — David Denby, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of revolutions
Noun
  • Set against a backdrop of turbulent transition as the Middle Ages move into modernity, the film follows the three men on their long and arduous journey, across a Europe ravaged by wars and uprisings, to Versailles.
    — Ed Meza, Variety, 28 July 2026
  • The representatives to the convention, which also included prominent figures such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, considered the federal government’s ability to deal with uprisings and fiscal policy to be particularly important.
    — Donovan Fifield, The Conversation, 16 July 2026
Definition of uprisings

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subversion
subversions
subversive
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Cite this Entry

“Subversions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subversions. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

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