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political dissident

political dissident

4 7.4
A person who openly opposes their government or its policies
  • noun
  • /pəˈlɪtɪkəl ˈdɪsɪdənt/
translation icon : disidente político
  • The political dissident organized protests to challenge the oppressive regime.
  • jailing political dissidents
  • thousands of political dissidents
  • leading political dissident

It is not uncommon to jail political dissidents or legislative opponents.

Examples

  • Today, thousands of political dissidents around the world are imprisoned on the same principle: that a few well-chosen words have the potency to change society.

    Academic text (2012)
  • During the Nasser regime, general intelligence was also very active in torturing political dissidents and mere opponents of the military regime.

    Blog text (23)
  • Exactly the sort of thing the Tsar would do to political dissidents...

    Blog text (31)
  • The state government has since reacted by refusing public services, such as public education for the children of political dissidents.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Under martial law, political dissidents were tried, convicted, and sentenced by military courts, often without legal representation.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Like many political dissidents, he had a lifelong rebellious streak.

    Blog text (2)
  • It is not uncommon to jail political dissidents or legislative opponents.

  • On the domestic front, political dissidents and ethnic minorities are encouraged by the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Perhaps the most visible indication of a more tolerant posture, however, was the release from prison of one of China's most conspicuous political dissidents, Wei Jingsheng, to receive medical care in the United States.

    Academic text (1999)
  • I have some disagreements with his arguments, but he recognized Cuba's continuing suppression of political dissidents and the accuracy of those who see Communist Cuba as a totalitarian and repressive society.

    Blog text (29)

Synonyms

dissident
vspolitical dissident
70 7.5

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

is broader opposition to government policy, not confined to authoritarian situations
dissenter
vspolitical dissident
22 7.2

A person who disagrees with common ideas or with those in charge

is an active challenge to state policy rather than mere private disagreement
oppositionist
vspolitical dissident
1 7.4

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

is an individual political challenge rather than always group-based resistance
deviationist
vspolitical dissident
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A person who disagrees with their political party's official views

is broader opposition to government doctrines, not limited to internal party differences
defier
vspolitical dissident
7.1

A person who openly refuses to obey rules or authority

is specifically focused on opposing government policy rather than general rule-breaking

Antonyms

817 1.0

A person who backs a team or a cause

2 5.7

A person who follows rules and usual ways instead of trying new ideas

How Opposed

political dissident
4 7.4
rebel
658 3.6
dissenter
22 7.2
opponent
907 2.1
critic
563 3.0
conformist
2 5.7

Surface Forms

Morphology

political + dissident

The meaning is directly compositional: 'dissident' means someone who opposes policies, and the adjective 'political' simply specifies the domain of opposition (government/politics). This modifier + noun pattern is regular and common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent words will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Political dissident comes from the old idea of a dissident as someone who 'sits apart' to show they 'disagree'. With political meaning 'about the government', a political dissident is a person who openly 'opposes' the government's ideas.