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antigovernment

antigovernment

1 6.5
A person or group that opposes the government
  • noun
  • /ˌæntiˈɡʌvərnmənt/
translation icon : opositor
  • Why in this era of national prosperity... has the antigovernment movement been at its peak?

Examples

  • We fought hard and commanded the field of battle regardless of what the antigovernment media reported.

    Blog text (27)
  • In the 1930 version, the same image remains spatially and temporally rooted but is now used to denote a wider spirit of antigovernment feeling.

    Academic text (2017)
  • It's a combustible mix of guns, extreme antigovernment politics, and religious extremism that brings to mind another Christian militia that made news recently -- the Hutaree.

    Blog text (34)
  • Mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority (it is, indeed, dangerous to adhere to the tenets of the Constitution, especially Amendments IX & X).

    Blog text (17)
  • No party founded by Abraham Lincoln—a president who advocated internal improvements while being simultaneously prepared to maintain the Union by force—can consider itself simply and purely antigovernment.

    Academic text (2009)
  • The antigovernment group organized protests to challenge the new law.

  • Many antigovernment activists gathered in the square to voice their dissatisfaction.

  • The antigovernment sentiment among the citizens grew stronger after the controversial election.

Synonyms

dissident
vsantigovernment
70 7.5

A person who speaks against the government or its leaders and may be punished

is broader, applying to opposition against policy, authority, or a government's existence
oppositionist
vsantigovernment
1 7.4

A person who acts against a government or its rules, like a protester

can oppose a government's existence and need not involve active resistance

How Opposed

revolutionary
143 4.9
rebel
658 3.6
subversive
5 8.1
dissident
70 7.5
antigovernment
1 6.5
opponent
3.4
critic
563 3.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

antigovernment = antigovernment (transparent) = anti + government

This noun use is a straightforward conversion from the adjective 'antigovernment' with no spelling change.

Etymology

Antigovernment as a noun uses the parts anti- 'against' and government 'the people who rule', so an antigovernment is a person or group that is against the government.