How to Use nonviolent in a Sentence

nonviolent

adjective
  • He argued that nonviolent drug offenders should receive shorter sentences.
  • While the event was nonviolent, there was some blowback.
    — William Lee, chicagotribune.com, 27 Dec. 2020
  • He had been given a life sentence for a nonviolent drug crime in 1998.
    — New York Times, 2 Jan. 2021
  • With nonviolent protests, Martin Luther King Jr. helped lead the movement to advance the rights of people of color.
    — CBS News, 31 Oct. 2022
  • Conviction for nonviolent crimes should not lose a citizen their right to bear arms, the judge said.
    — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2020
  • Freedom from excessive use of force: In nonviolent protests, police must avoid the use of force.
    — USA Today, 8 Nov. 2020
  • The arrest rate for nonviolent crimes remained flat at 2.1%.
    — Sarah Freishtat, Chicago Tribune, 27 Dec. 2022
  • And that is what Mr. Trump and his allies were up to in 2020, through both violent and nonviolent means — and continue to be up to today.
    — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 17 Sep. 2021
  • The crime waves are the result of a decrease in arrests for nonviolent crime due to jails and prisons being overcrowded.
    — Misty Severi, Washington Examiner, 14 Nov. 2023
  • For example, in the 1930s, populism of the left took the form of communism and that of the right took the form of fascism while nonviolent revolutionary changes took place in the US and the UK.
    — Ray Dalio, TIME, 25 June 2024
  • In the years that led up to his final crime, he was convicted of three nonviolent property crimes.
    — Ivana Hrynkiw | [email protected], al, 28 Apr. 2022
  • The thrust was to keep nonviolent offenders out of jail and prison and get them into mental health and substance abuse treatment.
    — Jenny Goldsberry, The Salt Lake Tribune, 6 Dec. 2020
  • The teams will respond to 911 calls for nonviolent behavior crises or substance abuse help.
    — Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 15 May 2023
  • His first nonviolent protest took place many years before the civil rights movement.
    — Nicole Chavez, CNN, 28 Feb. 2021
  • Years later, it was reprinted in press outlets and King’s memoir, becoming one of the most famous texts on nonviolent protest in the world.
    — Nora McGreevy, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Mar. 2021
  • The mob that broke into Hamilton Hall was not nonviolent, either.
    — The Editors, National Review, 2 May 2024
  • The good news is that protests, litigation and moving to new states are nonviolent actions.
    — Doyle McManuswashington Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2022
  • The video nonviolent arrestees must watch informs them of their rights and when to comply with an officer's demand.
    — Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN, 8 Oct. 2020
  • The group claims their actions are nonviolent, but the D.C. defendants injured a nurse while forcing their way into the clinic.
    — Garnet Henderson, ELLE, 6 May 2022
  • The Morehouse board is pushing for nonviolent protests.
    — Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, ABC News, 16 May 2024
  • In April, Biden used clemency to commute the sentences of 75 nonviolent drug offenders.
    — Michael D. Shear and, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Oct. 2022
  • With Teran described as a kind soul and proponent of nonviolent protest, some have suggested the weapon found near his body may have been planted.
    — Tyler Estep The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (tns), al, 24 Jan. 2023
  • In May 2020, Bernice called on those protesting following the murder of George Floyd to use nonviolent measures.
    — Stephanie Kaloi, Peoplemag, 12 Jan. 2023
  • But a coalition of advocacy groups that sued the state over the issue said the IDOC should free thousands more who are either old, infirm, nonviolent or near the end of their sentences.
    — Christy Gutowski, chicagotribune.com, 22 Dec. 2020
  • But both violent and nonviolent crime also fell in 2020 in Lake County, according to the study.
    — Clifford Ward, chicagotribune.com, 22 June 2021
  • The gameplay trailer also shows that the game is nonviolent, relying on puzzles to move bosses and obstacles out of the way.
    — George Yang, Wired, 17 May 2021
  • And that's why there's a contingent within the pro-life movement that feels very strongly that that these nonviolent acts of dissent need to be conducted.
    — Ryan Lucas, NPR, 9 Mar. 2025
  • But nonviolent first-time offenders who have not been accused of using the weapon in another crime rarely get serious prison time for the charges.
    — Glenn Thrush, New York Times, 2 June 2024
  • Last year alone, at least a dozen people were held too long uncharged after arrests for minor nonviolent crimes, interviews and records reviewed by The New York Times show.
    — Ilana Panich-Linsman, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2025
  • Since then, the federal government has sought to arrest and deport at least five other students for participating in nonviolent pro-Palestinian protests.
    — Raja Krishnamoorthi, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Apr. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nonviolent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: