as in dissenting
deviating from commonly accepted beliefs or practices
dissident elements within the Catholic Church
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in dissenter
a person who believes, teaches, or advocates something opposed to accepted beliefs
the conference drew political dissidents of every ilk
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dissident
Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 9 Dec. 2025
The wins were even more notable for coming hours after the dissident filmmaker was sentenced to prison in absentia by Iran’s Revolutionary Tribunal.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 22 Jan. 2026
This style of family-power politics reliably produces dissidents and black sheep—in this case, Brandon, a son of Skeet’s younger brother.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dissident
Adjective
Additionally, the board was critical of the dissident group’s methods in seeking out an overhaul at ZIM.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 9 Dec. 2025
The wins were even more notable for coming hours after the dissident filmmaker was sentenced to prison in absentia by Iran’s Revolutionary Tribunal.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
Noun
The polarizing vehicle with its unconventional design has become an effigy for political dissidents who take exception to Musk’s right-wing activism.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 22 Jan. 2026
This style of family-power politics reliably produces dissidents and black sheep—in this case, Brandon, a son of Skeet’s younger brother.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dissident
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissident
Adjective
-
Board member Renee Paschall cast the lone dissenting vote on the final package.—
Elizabeth Sander,
San Antonio Express-News,
19 Aug. 2022
-
The document runs to more than a hundred and fifty pages, and for each question there are affirmative and dissenting studies, as well as some that indicate mixed results.—
The New Yorker,
The New Yorker,
3 June 2022
Noun
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Tanenbaum is his sixth sitting justice, leaving the senior justice, Jorge Labarga, as a lonely dissenter facing mandatory retirement in October 2027.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
22 Jan. 2026
-
The alternative is a politics in which the state survives by making dissenters illegitimate as citizens.—
Stephanie A,
The Conversation,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Santa Familia, Cayo District, Belize The Cayo District is a charming and unconventional part of Belize that immediately feels warm and inviting.—
Kathleen Peddicord,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Expect sudden connections, unconventional relationships or shocking revelations within existing partnerships.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Holding hands, terrace kisses and renegade servants?—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
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This growing group of renegade traders maintain that core truths emerge only after thousands of people express their opinions with their pocketbooks.—
Bobby Allyn,
NPR,
17 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The design was by aviation legend Burt Rutan, known for his bold and often maverick creations.—
Jacopo Prisco,
CNN,
27 Jan. 2023
-
Sinema has modeled her political approach on the maverick style of the late Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who alienated the grassroots of his party by sometimes crossing the aisle to work with Democrats.—
Time,
Time,
23 Jan. 2023
Adjective
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As such, the city takes on its own distinctively sooty, nonconformist character.—
Rosalyn Wikeley,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Jan. 2026
-
In an environment like this, choosing not to speak can be as nonconformist, and perhaps even as difficult, as open dissent.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
27 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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In this autofictional novel, Huisman describes growing up in Paris with her beautiful, bipolar mother and iconoclastic, flamboyant father.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Jan. 2026
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If its absence speaks obliquely to the Dadaist disregard for aesthetic permanence, its iconography—and its iconoclastic mordancy—echoes throughout his entire corpus.—
Ara H. Merjian,
Artforum,
1 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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This heretical policy gets some support from yet another rigid convention, that of credits, which separates directors from screenwriters.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
22 Jan. 2026
-
That’s because The Carpenter’s Son is not only gruesomely horror-leaning, but it’s based on the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which some deem heretical or even blasphemous.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
14 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dissident.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissident. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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