as in rebel
someone who tries to overthrow or undermine a governing power
They were outted as subversives and exiled from the country.
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as in violent
seeking to overthrow or undermine a governing power
A subversive organization determined to unseat a leader who they believed operated outside the law.
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subversive
Noun
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The attackers were members of the Islamist Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a sanctioned rebel group with roots in Uganda.—
Paul Tilsley,
FOXNews.com,
31 July 2025 -
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth divulged classified information in March from battlefield commanders about the U.S. attack on Houthi rebels in a chat on the commercial messaging app Signal, according to a U.S. official.—
Tom Vanden Brook,
USA Today,
24 July 2025
Adjective
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The two got married, had a baby, and started a quiet life together far away from his violent past.—
Allison DeGrushe Published,
EW.com,
14 July 2025
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As droves of tourists continue to flock to Spain for European summer vacations, the nation’s emergency responders are dealing with the aftermath of a violent wave of flash flooding in nearly half of the country’s 50 provinces.—
Opheli Garcia Lawler,
Travel + Leisure,
14 July 2025
Noun
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Prosecutors allege that Carvajal played a key role in coordinating large-scale cocaine shipments to the United States, using his official position to protect narcotics operations and facilitate deals with foreign insurgent groups, most notably Colombia’s FARC.—
Antonio Maria Delgado,
Miami Herald,
25 June 2025
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Inside is the man who arrived at Balenciaga as a 34-year old insurgent from Vetements in 2015, and is now moving on, aged 44, as one of the undisputed creative director titans of luxury fashion, charged to revive the flagging fortunes of Gucci.—
Sarah Mower,
Vogue,
24 June 2025
Adjective
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This evolutionary—not revolutionary—mindset offers a key lesson: Transformation doesn’t mean total disruption.—
Solange Charas,
Forbes.com,
26 July 2025
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Advertisement For all that was revolutionary about the Fantastic Four, there is little about the characters’ powers that is original.—
Oliver Staley,
Time,
25 July 2025
Noun
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Christian Slater plays the mysterious anarchist Mr. Robot.—
Lauren Huff,
EW.com,
4 July 2025
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As Fowler outlines, in contrast to much contemporaneous Liberal thought, anarchists believed that personal liberty was best pursued socially, in a community free of government and living peacefully with the wider environment.—
Ben Woollard,
JSTOR Daily,
18 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Subversive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subversive. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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