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
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
Shelley grew up knowing exactly what happened to women who refused their prescribed role, and hid her most subversive arguments inside a story that looked, on its surface, like a cautionary tale about science.
—Kennedy French, Variety, 6 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
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
Shelley grew up knowing exactly what happened to women who refused their prescribed role, and hid her most subversive arguments inside a story that looked, on its surface, like a cautionary tale about science.
—Kennedy French, Variety, 6 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subversive
Noun
-
Following the events of A Palace Near the Wind, Liu Lufeng and her siblings flee the Palace for the dangerous waters, which contain rebels, allies, and her sister Sangshu—though Sangshu’s conflicting loyalties may clash with Lufeng’s plan to keep them all safe.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
-
An Iranian missile struck a fuel-oil tanker in Qatari waters Wednesday morning, while Houthi rebels launched a third barrage of missiles toward Israel.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In 2023, a report from the Police Executive Research Forum, a national think tank on policing standards, called for police to put the brakes on car chases unless a violent crime has been committed and the suspect poses an imminent threat.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Apr. 2026
-
The enemy was large and violent.—
Emily Hallas,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
This long list of accomplishments doesn’t even mention her work with the Raconteurs, her co-writes with Guy fuckin’ Clark, or that one of her records (2013’s Like a Rose) is a stone-cold classic of 2010s insurgent country.—
Stephen M. Deusner,
Pitchfork,
7 Apr. 2026
-
While serving a tour of duty outside the province of Kandahar in Afghanistan in August of 2011, he was ambushed by Taliban insurgents disguised in Afghan National Army uniforms.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
With over 20 interactive portals through the years 1763 to 1789, visitors can take deep-dives into moments of revolutionary history.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Apr. 2026
-
The dark ride in Disneyland’s Mickey’s Toontown uses a revolutionary trackless system, and if an iPhone is dropped, the phone can trigger a sensor that can disrupt operations and cause a multi-hour shutdown.—
Carly Caramanna,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
That’s partially due to bandleader Caspian Honeywell’s time on the circuit in the defunct anarchist group Blackbird Raum, who jump-started the folk-punk movement almost 20 years ago.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
23 Feb. 2026
-
All were marked for assassination by an anarchist cook named Jean Crones, who spiked the soup stock with arsenic.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subversive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subversive. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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