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

Al-Sharaa ousted President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 in an offensive led by HTS rebels.

— Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026
The designation remained throughout the rule of his son Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled by rebels led by current President Ahmed al-Sharaa in December 2024.

— Reuters, NBC news, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of rebels

Noun

Israel, meanwhile, has remained suspicious of the new authorities in Damascus, led by former Islamist insurgents.

— Andrew Wilks, Los Angeles Times, 22 Aug. 2026
In both races, the two incumbents faced insurgents who ran under the democratic socialist banner with campaigns that emphasized universal health care, cost-of-living concerns and opposition to Israel.

— Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 19 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

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
Those who opposed the coup, like Tom Keith's grandfather, are still often thought of as traitors, just as his distant relatives are.

— Lee Cowan, CBS News, 12 July 2026

Definition of traitors

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“Subversives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subversives. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of subversives

noun

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