Synonyms of subversive

subversive 1 of 2

noun

as in rebel

someone who tries to overthrow or undermine a governing power

They were outted as subversives and exiled from the country.

Related Words

• rebel
• insurgent
• revolutionary
• anarchist
• traitor
• radical
• extremist
• renegade
• agitator
• insurrectionist
• anarch
• troublemaker
• revolutionist
• alarmist
• separatist
• crazy
• separationist
• secessionist
• revolter
• defector
• deserter
• conspirator
• collaborator
• intriguer
• Judas
• turncoat
• quisling
• collaborationist
• coconspirator
• plotter
• young Turk
• subverter
• schemer
• apostate
• betrayer
• double-dealer
• snake
• double-crosser
• sellout
• serpent
• backstabber
• recreant
• accommodationist

subversive

2 of 2

adjective

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.

Related Words

• violent
• revolutionary
• radical
• provocative
• exciting
• inflammatory
• provoking
• incendiary
• wild
• reactionary
• inciting
• rabid
• agitating
• fomenting
• rabble-rousing
• instigating
• extremist
• extreme
• fanatic
• ultra
• revolutionist

Dissimilar Words

• conservative
• moderate
• traditional
• conventional
• progressive
• temperate
• liberal
• orthodox
• middle-of-the-road
• nonrevolutionary
• unrevolutionary

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of subversive

Noun

Home of the subversive and the sublime, the maverick and the madman, the inspired and the inspiring, the sage and the clown, and, most important, the brave. — Tom Selleck, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026

Kristen Stewart loves to be a little subversive with her fashion choices. — Juliana Ukiomogbe, InStyle, 23 June 2026

The seamless integration of old and new feels stealthy, and a touch subversive, a doubling-down on the museum’s approach to time as nonlinear, sinuous and delightfully slippery. — Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026

Instead, the stylish couple spent the construction years combing through vintage markets, building a concept that’s classic, but singular and a little subversive. — Regan Stephens, Travel + Leisure, 20 Apr. 2026

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

Adjective

Wiesler’s change of heart leads the piece into more conventional thriller territory as Dreyman is driven to actually attempt something subversive. — Demetrios Matheou, HollywoodReporter, 2 Nov. 2026

Sculptural and subversive, it’s made from broken windows, melted glass bottles, and is repurposed using old engine oil as fuel. — Vy Yang, Architectural Digest, 30 Oct. 2026

And yet these engravings are informed by the artist’s signature subversive irony, incorporating French aristocratic styles to elevate Haitians bent on destroying French colonial power. — Elisa Turner, Miami Herald, 29 Oct. 2026

Drawing on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, Jackson Wiederhoeft’s fall 2023 collection imagined a subversive afterlife in which the heroine refuses to be rescued from the Underworld. — Livia Caligor, Vogue, 27 Oct. 2026

Throughout the twentieth century, these chiefly Latin and South American writers such as Allende and García Márquez, Pablo Neruda and Jorge Luis Borges employed magical realism in overt and subversive ways, playing with both reality and fantasy. — Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026

Maggie setting Marge on fire to stop her mom from chopping her into pieces with a kitchen knife is more subversive — and upsetting — than any Disney-era dig from The Simpsons at its corporate overlords. — Joshua Kurp, Vulture, 26 Oct. 2026

And always something subversive, something counter to expectations. — Katie Abel, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2026

What Chavarria has created is a brand that’s known for being subversive, unapologetic, and radically cool. — Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2026