Thesaurus results for SUBVERSIVES

subversives

noun

plural of subversive

as in rebels

someone who tries to overthrow or undermine a governing power They were outted as subversives and exiled from the country.

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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 subversives Loners lashing out America has had genuine subversives and left-wing terror networks in the past. — Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for subversives

Noun

Nathaniel Bacon and his rebels set fire to Jamestown, the capital of the Virginia colony.

— USA Today, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026
Smokejumpers kicked cargo destined for mountain villages in Vietnam, Hmong rebels in Laos, and Muslim dissidents in China.

— M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of rebels

Noun

The insecurity landscape is also more chaotic because some groups, after initially being invited to help defend against insurgents, turned into terrorists, said Dengiyefa Angalapu, an analyst at the Center for Democracy and Development in Abuja.

— Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 31 Aug. 2026
Socialists have found a new footing in the party, with younger and more left-wing insurgents ousting older establishment figures to demand generational and ideological change.

— Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of insurgents

Noun

Centrist Democrats are not socialists, not revolutionaries, and not disposed to blame Zionist conspiracies for every trouble in American life, including police brutality and urban gentrification.

— David Frum, The Atlantic, 19 Aug. 2026
To make matters worse, ten days later, revolutionaries stormed the Bastille.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of revolutionaries

Noun

Indeed, antisemitisms prove that a society can hold contradictory images simultaneously, such as the fact that the Jews are both anarchists out to destroy capitalism as well as capitalists out to exploit the working class.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 July 2026
In July 1936, anarchists set fire to the church’s crypt and broke into the architect’s workshop before destroying many of his plans and plaster models.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 8 June 2026

Definition of anarchists

Noun

Ortiz vowed to interrogate and, if necessary, kill any traitors who thwarted him and Simon.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 31 Aug. 2026
In reality, the big debate has been about questions such as whether military bases should be named for traitors and whether governments should host monuments to a rebellion to defend slavery.

— David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026

Definition of traitors

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subversives

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“Subversives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subversives. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of subversives

noun

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