as in rebel
someone who tries to overthrow or undermine a governing power
They were outted as subversives and exiled from the country.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in violent
seeking to overthrow or undermine a governing power
A subversive organization determined to unseat a leader who they believed operated outside the law.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subversive
Noun
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Also starring Jamie Lee Curtis, the original 2003 flick found Lohan’s character — a teenage rebel who fronts a rock band called Pink Slip — magically switching bodies with her mother.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
28 May 2025 -
Bo was a rebel on a motorcycle who soon fell for the rich and spirited Hope.—
Victoria Edel,
People.com,
26 May 2025
Adjective
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This sweeping action included both nonviolent participants and those convicted of violent crimes against law enforcement.—
Alia Shoaib,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 May 2025
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Individual plots veer between cartoonish farce (the gang accidentally makes friends with a violent criminal) and more mundane problems (Billie loses her insurance and gets into medical debt).—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
28 May 2025
Noun
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For decades, the Philippine armed forces battled insurgents in the southern reaches of the archipelago.—
ELY RATNER,
Foreign Affairs,
27 May 2025
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The insurgents have become the establishment, and the purpose of the establishment is always to protect itself.—
Chris Stirewalt,
The Hill,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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Internal politics and bureaucratic struggles now characterize organizations that once prided themselves on revolutionary simplicity.—
Boaz Sobrado,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
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That, paired with large reductions in power consumption, have the potential to make this a revolutionary drive within its sphere.—
John Burek,
PC Magazine,
26 May 2025
Noun
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Greenwich Village was thick with activists, artists, and anarchists; Harlem was having its Renaissance.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
5 May 2025
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Scores of downtown storefronts were boarded up in anticipation of clashes between cops and anarchists that, for a change, never materialized.—
Jason Motlagh,
Rolling Stone,
27 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Subversive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subversive. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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