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
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Aleppo had fallen to the rebels by the time Assad landed back in Damascus.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026
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According to a United Nations report, since seizing Rubaya, the rebels have imposed taxes on the trade and transport of coltan, generating at least $800,000 a month.—
Justin Kabumba,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Those funds often backed far-right Republican insurgents.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
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Amid the nods to social media and cancel culture and the shallow perils of modern celebrity, the image of Taylor-Joy’s disciplined group of insurgents, who speak in almost archaic, poetic dialogue, strikes a bracing contrast.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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With that mental reframing, the American (and then French and other) revolutionaries changed not just their own country, but the world.—
Andreas Kluth,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
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Rahman is positioning himself as a bridge between a political aristocracy that dates back to Bangladesh’s liberation struggle and the aspirations of its young revolutionaries.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Investigators are not ruling out sabotage carried out by anarchists, citing similarities to the sabotage that targeted the French network during the 2024 Paris Olympics, when France’s high-speed train lines were targeted by multiple malicious acts including arson.—
Antonia Mortensen,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
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The loudest calls for taxing the ultra-rich amid this year’s Davos summit aren’t coming from hooded anarchists or revolutionary socialists, but from the one-percenters themselves.—
Joe Wilkins Published Jan 22,
Futurism,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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But that does not mean that those Maryland families with pre-war Confederate roots were, or are, traitors.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
10 Feb. 2026
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Underwood not only survived several murders but takes pride in having a hand in eliminating three out of the four original traitors, including Donna Kelce, Lisa Rinna and Dillard Bassett.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subversives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subversives. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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