dissent
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the act of disagreeing with the ideas of a government, a political party, or a religion.
n.the expression or holding of opinions at variance with those previously or officially held, particularly in a political or religious context.
Simple“The government tried to stop any dissent by banning public protests.”
In context“The regime's attempt to suppress political dissent only served to galvanise the underground movement and attract international condemnation.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
n.a statement written by a judge who disagrees with the majority of the other judges in a court case.
n.a formal legal opinion written by a judge or justice who disagrees with the majority decision of the court.
Simple“Justice Smith wrote a strong dissent explaining why she thought the law was unfair.”
In context“The justice's powerful dissent argued that the majority had misinterpreted the constitutional protections regarding individual privacy.”
Synonymsdissenting opinionAntonymsconcurrence - 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.showing your disagreement with a referee's decision in a rude or angry way.
n.the act of showing public disagreement with an official's decision in a manner deemed unsporting or disrespectful.
Simple“The player was given a yellow card for dissent after shouting at the referee.”
In context“The captain was cautioned for dissent after he continued to argue aggressively with the umpire regarding the previous play.”
Synonymsobjectionbacktalk - 04 C1 Advanced
v.to publicly disagree with an official opinion or a common belief.
v.to withhold assent or to differ in opinion from a majority or an established authority; frequently takes the preposition 'from'.
Simple“Only two members of the committee chose to dissent from the final decision.”
In context“While the majority of the board supported the merger, several key shareholders chose to dissent, citing concerns over long-term stability.”
“I knew straight away what Powell wanted to achieve with the speech: to fan the flames of public dissent.”
“It was his second red of the season after getting two yellows for dissent and kicking Ibrahima Konaté on the floor against Liverpool last December.”
From Middle English dissenten, from Latin dissentire (“to differ in sentiments, disagree, be at odds, contradict, quarrel”), from dis- + sentire (see sense).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.