dissident

adjective

dis·​si·​dent ˈdi-sə-dənt How to pronounce dissident (audio)
: disagreeing especially with an established religious or political system, organization, or belief
dissident elements in the armed forces
dissident noun

Examples of dissident in a Sentence

dissident elements within the Catholic Church
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In 1735, dissident publisher John Peter Zenger was charged with seditious libel for criticizing New York’s royal governor. Mike Fox, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025 Further down the totem pole, hundreds of thousands of white-collar professionals—particularly in IT, finance, and business services—are benefiting from higher salaries as their dissident peers emigrate and their skills become scarcer. Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 17 Apr. 2025 Putin has rehabilitated the World War II–era Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who, as the Soviet physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov has said, was directly responsible for even more millions of deaths than Hitler. Antony Beevor, Foreign Affairs, 7 May 2025 Other members of the dissident community, however, remained suspicious of Wang’s conduct. Brian Nishii Tanya Pérez Quinton Kamara, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for dissident

Word History

Etymology

Latin dissident-, dissidens, present participle of dissidēre to sit apart, disagree, from dis- + sedēre to sit — more at sit

First Known Use

1769, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dissident was in 1769

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dissident.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dissident. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

dissident

adjective
dis·​si·​dent ˈdis-əd-ənt How to pronounce dissident (audio)
: disagreeing with an opinion or a group
dissident noun

More from Merriam-Webster on dissident

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!