dissident
Americannoun
adjective
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of dissident
1525–35; < Latin dissident- (stem of dissidēns, present participle of dissidēre to sit apart), equivalent to dis- dis- 1 + -sid- (combining form of sed- repair 1 ) + -ent- -ent
Explanation
If you are a dissident, you are a person who is rebelling against a government. Dissidents can do their work peacefully or with violence. Dissident is closely related to the word, dissent, which means objecting. People who are dissidents show their dissent. Catholic priests who advocate allowing women into the priesthood could be called dissidents, as could the Puritans who left England to live in colonial America. As an adjective, a dissident member of a group is one who disagrees with the majority of members.
Vocabulary lists containing dissident
Power Prefix: dis-
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Refugee
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The vehicle was stopped during an operation targeting dissident republican activities on Wednesday but further details are just emerging.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Prominent Cuban dissident artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara flew to exile Saturday in the United States after serving a five-year sentence on the island, as Washington urged Havana to release more than 700 political prisoners.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
Otero Alcantara is one of the most prominent figures in Cuba's new dissident movement.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
This will likely be received negatively by Iranian dissident groups.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
“It’s about this meg normal guy, who doesn’t think about anything until one wacky day, when he meets a dissident with a heart of gold.”
From "Feed" by M.T. Anderson
They argued the vast new embassy next to the Tower of London would increase the risk of a terror attack and of espionage and harassment of dissidents and protesters.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Wai, a Border Force officer who used his access to the Home Office computer system to track Hong Kong dissidents in the UK, was also convicted of misconduct in public office.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
But the regime still holds more than 400 dissidents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
Black and Indigenous Americans, labor organizers, immigrants, queer people, political dissidents, abuse survivors, and countless others have discovered that rights celebrated in the abstract can evaporate when exercised against the wrong forces.
From Slate ● Jun. 4, 2026
Though a few dissidents still thought he was a laughing talking-machine, he nonetheless saw problems through to the finish line.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
