civil disobedience
noun
: refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the government
Examples of civil disobedience in a Sentence
In an act of civil disobedience, the family sent its tax money to an antiwar organization.
A student organization is encouraging civil disobedience as a way to get the university to change its policies.
Recent Examples on the Web
An act of civil disobedience includes sitting on a public road to block traffic.
—
Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2025
Advertisement For that reason, collegiate sanctions for mild acts of civil disobedience may sometimes be relatively light—probation or a formal warning, for example, rather than suspension or expulsion.
—Christopher L. Eisgruber, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
Both were arrested and charged with civil disobedience during the 2003-2004 grocery strike and lockout in California, and again in 2008 when El Super inherited problematic labor contracts from Gigante when stores in the region were acquired.
—Pat Maio, Oc Register, 30 Sep. 2025
Activists have also employed civil disobedience tactics, like staging pop-up roadblocks in Serbian cities, to maintain pressure on the government.
—Hanna Begić, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil disobedience
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Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2025
Advertisement For that reason, collegiate sanctions for mild acts of civil disobedience may sometimes be relatively light—probation or a formal warning, for example, rather than suspension or expulsion.
—Christopher L. Eisgruber, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
Both were arrested and charged with civil disobedience during the 2003-2004 grocery strike and lockout in California, and again in 2008 when El Super inherited problematic labor contracts from Gigante when stores in the region were acquired.
—Pat Maio, Oc Register, 30 Sep. 2025
Activists have also employed civil disobedience tactics, like staging pop-up roadblocks in Serbian cities, to maintain pressure on the government.
—Hanna Begić, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil disobedience
Cite this Entry
“Civil disobedience.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civil%20disobedience. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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