as in rebels
someone who tries to overthrow or undermine a governing power
They were outted as subversives and exiled from the country.
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Recent Examples of subversives
Loners lashing out America has had genuine subversives and left-wing terror networks in the past.
—
Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2025
Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subversives
Noun
-
Puskin was sent into exile by Tsar Alexander I after his poem Ode to Liberty was found among the possessions of the rebels of the Decemberist uprising.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
-
The rebels have imprisoned thousands of people including United Nations staffers.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
Many advanced states understand the need for some kind of violent reaction to terrorists or insurgents, usually as a task for special-operations forces.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2026
-
Both political insurgents were elected under extraordinary circumstances.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
French revolutionaries sought to remake their society, executing tens of thousands of those who stood in their way.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
The second includes former revolutionaries, reformists, communist factions and groups such as the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), many of whom emerged from or once supported the revolutionary system before later opposing it.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
At the time, several hundred thousand unions, socialists, anarchists and reformers took to the streets to advocate for the eight-hour workday.—
Preston Mizell,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Several of the anarchists were convicted of the deaths, to strong public approval.—
Jim Nowlan,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The president has spent a decade calling his rivals communists and traitors, among other hyperbolic insults.—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
28 Apr. 2026
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Military culture is fiercely self-protective, and soldiers who criticize it are usually treated as traitors.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subversives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subversives. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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