dissident
Americannoun
adjective
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- antidissident noun
- dissidence noun
- dissidently adverb
- nondissident adjective
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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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.
"In other words, he's not a classic dissident," he says.
From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026
The term "dissident republicans" describes a range of individuals who do not accept the Good Friday Agreement - the 1998 peace deal which ended the worst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026
My own family fled after the 2021 military coup when my mother was put on a wanted list for being a prominent dissident.
From Slate • Mar. 19, 2026
A family dispute has also caught attention: his sister Badri fell out with her family in the 1980s and fled to Iraq in the war to join her husband, a dissident cleric.
From Barron's • Feb. 28, 2026
In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
