as in rebel
someone who tries to overthrow or undermine a governing power
They were outted as subversives and exiled from the country.
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as in violent
seeking to overthrow or undermine a governing power
A subversive organization determined to unseat a leader who they believed operated outside the law.
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Recent Examples of subversive
Chris Yogerst, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2025
Loners lashing out America has had genuine subversives and left-wing terror networks in the past.
—Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2025
An obsession with Perfidia Beverly Hills (a magnetic Teyana Taylor), the animating figure behind a militant organization called the French 75 and the most stunning subversive to flaunt an automatic weapon while heavily pregnant.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2025
To dissidents, she has been seen as a hero putting her life on the line; to Modi’s supporters, as a dangerous subversive who is anti-national and anti-Hindu.
—Anderson Tepper, The Atlantic, 8 Sep. 2025
André's chaotic talk show, The Eric Andre Show (2012–2023), established the actor and comedian as a true subversive, which makes his turns in projects such as The Lion King (2019) and Trolls Band Together (2023) that much more amusing.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Sep. 2025
José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 8 Apr. 2026
Through subversive graphics and Americana fashion, the brand bridges Japanese street culture and Western fashion.
—Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 1 Apr. 2026
On a campy and subversive new album featuring Bladee, the Ukrainian black metal artist aspires to make the notoriously forbidding genre a little warmer.
—Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 31 Mar. 2026
Like a little kid touching a finger to a painting when the museum guard isn’t looking, taking knife and fork to this artistry felt subversive.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2026
There’s also something quietly subversive about the idea.
—Duante Beddingfield, Freep.com, 26 Mar. 2026
Started in 2014 after Liang graduated from Parsons School of Design, the Sandy Liang label broke out in the early 2020s, becoming synonymous with subversive ultrafeminine attire.
—Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 24 Mar. 2026
The military had turned the well into a mass grave, dumping the bodies of students, political activists and rural workers deemed subversive, and covering them with layers of earth, stones and debris.
—ABC News, 22 Mar. 2026
My favorite detective, Agatha Christie’s sweet old-lady sleuth, Miss Marple, had taught me that listening could be subversive.
—Literary Hub, 11 Mar. 2026
Noun
On November 25, 1947, a majority of Hollywood top brass met at the Waldorf Astoria in New York and drafted the notorious Waldorf Statement that promised no studio would employ anyone who was a communist or suspected subversive.
—Chris Yogerst, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2025
Loners lashing out America has had genuine subversives and left-wing terror networks in the past.
—Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2025
An obsession with Perfidia Beverly Hills (a magnetic Teyana Taylor), the animating figure behind a militant organization called the French 75 and the most stunning subversive to flaunt an automatic weapon while heavily pregnant.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2025
To dissidents, she has been seen as a hero putting her life on the line; to Modi’s supporters, as a dangerous subversive who is anti-national and anti-Hindu.
—Anderson Tepper, The Atlantic, 8 Sep. 2025
André's chaotic talk show, The Eric Andre Show (2012–2023), established the actor and comedian as a true subversive, which makes his turns in projects such as The Lion King (2019) and Trolls Band Together (2023) that much more amusing.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
Enter OnlyFans, the untraditional content-subscription platform that was not made for amateur pornography but has become its safe haven and a shorthand for it, where a range of subversive designers have flocked in hopes of finding other ways of securing some extra cash.
—José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 8 Apr. 2026
Through subversive graphics and Americana fashion, the brand bridges Japanese street culture and Western fashion.
—Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 1 Apr. 2026
On a campy and subversive new album featuring Bladee, the Ukrainian black metal artist aspires to make the notoriously forbidding genre a little warmer.
—Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 31 Mar. 2026
Like a little kid touching a finger to a painting when the museum guard isn’t looking, taking knife and fork to this artistry felt subversive.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2026
There’s also something quietly subversive about the idea.
—Duante Beddingfield, Freep.com, 26 Mar. 2026
Started in 2014 after Liang graduated from Parsons School of Design, the Sandy Liang label broke out in the early 2020s, becoming synonymous with subversive ultrafeminine attire.
—Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 24 Mar. 2026
The military had turned the well into a mass grave, dumping the bodies of students, political activists and rural workers deemed subversive, and covering them with layers of earth, stones and debris.
—ABC News, 22 Mar. 2026
My favorite detective, Agatha Christie’s sweet old-lady sleuth, Miss Marple, had taught me that listening could be subversive.
—Literary Hub, 11 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subversive
Noun
-
Julian is both old and a devout rebel, with a lifetime’s worth of wisdom, wit and burned bridges in his arsenal.—
Lindsey Bahr,
Boston Herald,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Why isn’t Homelander lasering these rebels immediately?—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
One of the only figures in Fuqua’s filmography who resembles Alonzo is Suge Knight, the real-life hip-hop executive known for his bullying—and sometimes violent—approach to business and life.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
-
The violent attack marked a tragic and final chapter in Griffin’s downward spiral following his mother’s death in 2021.—
Roni Jacobson,
New York Daily News,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
That year, Ukraine elected a Western-leaning government, preceding Russia’s seizure of the Crimean Peninsula and arming of insurgent groups to occupy parts of the industrialised east of the country.—
Colin Millar,
New York Times,
12 Apr. 2026
-
Myanmar's military junta doesn't control the whole territory; much of it is controlled by insurgent groups and warlords; while Cambodian politics has been dominated by one family since the 1980s.—
The Week UK,
TheWeek,
12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Against a backdrop of tennis courts, luxury hotels, and colonial privilege, simmering tensions erupt as Lan’s brother Tran rejects his wealthy family’s collaboration with the French to join Ho Chi Minh’s revolutionary cause, setting off an assassination that changes everything.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Brightman concludes that the gusher in AI investment doesn’t mean that this revolutionary advance will prove a big profit spinner for the Big Four.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Based on his writings, it’s widely believed that Satoshi was part of the Cypherpunks, an anarchist movement formed in the early 1990s dedicated to using cryptography to undermine government surveillance and censorship.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
9 Apr. 2026
-
This was just the beginning of us young anarchists becoming judgmental jerks.—
Joseph Hudak,
Rolling Stone,
7 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subversive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subversive. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
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