dissenter

[ dih-sen-ter ]

noun

1. a person who dissents, as from an established church, political party, or majority opinion.
2. (sometimes initial capital letter) an English Protestant who dissents from the Church of England.

Dissenter

/ dɪˈsɛntə /

noun

1. Christianity a Nonconformist or a person who refuses to conform to the established church

Word History and Origins

Origin of dissenter¹

First recorded in 1630–40; dissent + -er ¹

Example Sentences

One of the most common arguments raised by dissenters is that vaccine mandates infringe upon unvaccinated people’s human rights and civil liberties.

From Quartz

The short opinion, with Justice Clarence Thomas as the lone dissenter, was the court’s latest attempt to clarify the free-speech rights of the nation’s 50 million public school students, and a rare win for student speech.

From Washington Post

Suddenly, Lieber went from perennial dissenter to board president.

From Voice of San Diego

Roberts, the other dissenter in the Ramos case, was more difficult to read.

From Washington Post

Kagan, although a dissenter in Ramos, suggested this might be another.

From Washington Post

I think you should give the dissenter the respect to respond to the points that he makes.

From The Daily Beast

Among the committee members, Meretz MK Zehava Gal-On was the sole dissenter.

From The Daily Beast

By expressing my doubts, I am clearly a dissenter in this persistent force for progress.

From The Daily Beast

McCain thinks of himself as a maverick, an unorthodox thinker, a dissenter.

From The Daily Beast

I wanted to see a live Dissenter, I believe, and yet I wished it were over.

From Project Gutenberg

New-Rochelle was then a parish, and its rector, of course, considered the French preacher a dissenter.

From Project Gutenberg

The four lieutenants stepped out of the way, so that the single dissenter might stand alone.

From Project Gutenberg

The squire was interested in the land and the church; the merchant thought more of commerce and was apt to be a dissenter.

From Project Gutenberg

I heard an earnest middle-aged dissenter preach a sermon on that text a few days ago.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• protester
• skeptic