as in treason
formal
the crime of saying, writing, or doing something that encourages people to disobey their government
The leaders of the group have been arrested and charged with sedition.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of sedition
Here, Trent offers us a clock mender whose friend is facing sedition charges as part of a crackdown on political reading clubs, and a housemaid whose testimony might exonerate her.
—
Olivia Waite, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2025
Around 600 defendants faced allegations of assaulting, resisting or impeding police and 10 were convicted of sedition.
—Tara Suter, The Hill, 26 Mar. 2025
Trump’s reign of terror recalls a shameful chapter in our history: The alien and sedition acts of 1798, under which journalists were jailed for criticizing President John Adams.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 28 Mar. 2025
In traditional dictatorships, critics are often charged with crimes such as sedition, treason, or plotting insurrection, but contemporary autocrats tend to prosecute critics for more mundane offenses, such as corruption, tax evasion, defamation, and even minor violations of arcane rules.
—Steven Levitsky, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sedition
Olivia Waite, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2025
Around 600 defendants faced allegations of assaulting, resisting or impeding police and 10 were convicted of sedition.
—Tara Suter, The Hill, 26 Mar. 2025
Trump’s reign of terror recalls a shameful chapter in our history: The alien and sedition acts of 1798, under which journalists were jailed for criticizing President John Adams.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 28 Mar. 2025
In traditional dictatorships, critics are often charged with crimes such as sedition, treason, or plotting insurrection, but contemporary autocrats tend to prosecute critics for more mundane offenses, such as corruption, tax evasion, defamation, and even minor violations of arcane rules.
—Steven Levitsky, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sedition
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sedition
treason
Noun
-
Lee’s campaign has asserted that a sitting president cannot be criminally prosecuted, except in cases of treason.—
Jong Eun Lee,
The Conversation,
29 May 2025
-
The cost of failure would have been death on the grounds of treason.—
Daniel Twining,
National Review,
22 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sedition.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sedition. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share