dissent 1 of 2

noun

Definition of dissentnext
1
as in discord
a lack of agreement or harmony considerable dissent within the party's rank and file

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dissidence
departure from a generally accepted theory, opinion, or practice the church reacted to any form of dissent by promptly excommunicating its proponents

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

dissent

2 of 2

verb

di-ˈsent How to pronounce dissent (audio)
as in to disagree
to have a different opinion anyone who dissented was encouraged to speak out while they had the chance

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dissent
Noun
The distance between the majority of six conservatives and the dissent from three liberals was simultaneously narrow and vast. — Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 1 July 2026 Leaders using this phrase create an unsafe psychological environment, dissuading any dissent or improvement curiosity. — Kate Wieczorek, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Verb
Associate Judge Andi Saputra, who offered the sole dissenting opinion in the decision and called for acquittal, said the case offered no proof of malicious intent, wrongdoing or any indication of a conflict of interest. — Chandra Asmara, Fortune, 30 June 2026 Last December, a majority of commissioners voted for their favorite design by FTL City Hall Partners, with Herbst as the lone dissenting vote. — Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 3 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for dissent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissent
  1. discord
  2. dissidence
  3. disagree
  4. strife
  5. heresy
  6. friction
  7. nonconformity
  8. conflict
Noun
  • But the discord between the two leaders stretches far beyond disagreements over the conflict in the Middle East.
    — Tiago Ventura, Time, 24 June 2026
  • Despite the discord, the regime is likely to have the final say.
    — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 14 June 2026
Definition of discord
Noun
  • So why aren’t more people signing up for decadent dissidence?
    — Eileen G'Sell, The Conversation, 8 June 2026
  • Given that women in other countries do wear lipstick as an act of resistance today, suggesting that American feminists did so in 1912 conflates their wildly different cultural contexts, and blurs one’s sense of what constitutes public dissidence.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
Definition of dissidence
Verb
  • But tensions remain high, with the sides exchanging fire at one point and continuing to publicly disagree about key issues.
    — Dan Mangan,Luke Fountain,Kevin Breuninger,Garrett Downs,Ashley Capoot,Justin Papp, CNBC, 2 July 2026
  • However, senior administration officials became worried that users might be able to circumvent Fable 5’s guardrails — though experts disagreed over the severity of the risk.
    — Jared Perlo, NBC news, 1 July 2026
Definition of disagree
Noun
  • When her parents — the wonderful June Diane Raphael and Tom Everett Scott — fall into professional reputational strife, the family is forced to relocate to Seattle to rebuild their lives.
    — Scarlett Harris, IndieWire, 6 July 2026
  • But labor strife here is spilling off of the docks and into City Hall, with political implications for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, himself a former labor organizer who is expected to run for reelection in less than a year.
    — Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026
Definition of strife
Noun
  • But at the time, vernacular Bibles were associated with heresy.
    — Michael Bruening, The Conversation, 30 June 2026
  • Its members celebrate the ancient Latin Mass and have accused the modern church of being rife with heresies and errors.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 June 2026
Definition of heresy
Noun
  • Other insiders dispute this characterization, saying Gunn, Safran and Gillespie had the normal amount of healthy friction any filmmaker and studio have as part of the process of making a movie better.
    — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 3 July 2026
  • The energy is stored as rotational momentum in an environment of near-zero friction.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 3 July 2026
Definition of friction
Noun
  • How much, if at all, gender nonconformity was accepted, is not directly evident.
    — Charles Preston, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 May 2026
  • In that movie, Keating taught English and poetry, so his open mind and nonconformity worked.
    — Andy Hoglund, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Apr. 2026
Definition of nonconformity
Noun
  • China has helped cushion the global oil shock, seen its clean energy tech exports surge and framed the war in Iran as another example in which Chinese leadership could supersede the US in ending global conflicts.
    — Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 1 July 2026
  • The characters are all in a continual state of collision, their shifting conflicts inflamed by Coriolanus’ arrogantly uncompromising nature.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
Definition of conflict

Browse Nearby Words

dissensuses
dissent
dissented
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dissent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissent. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on dissent

Nglish: Translation of dissent for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All