Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Intended or serving to subvert, especially intended to overthrow or undermine an established government: "Sex and creativity are often seen by dictators as subversive activities” ( Erica Jong).
- n. One who advocates or is regarded as advocating subversion.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Tending to subvert; having a tendency to overthrow and ruin: with of.
Wiktionary
- adj. Intending to subvert, overturn or undermine a government or authority
- n. a radical supporter of political or social revolution
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Tending to subvert; having a tendency to overthrow and ruin.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. in opposition to a civil authority or government
- n. a radical supporter of political or social revolution
Etymologies
- See to subvert. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“In the meantime, Nigerian security agencies have been investigating what they call subversive activities by some foreign correspondents.”
“It took the gay-rights movement 30 years to shift from the Stonewall riots to gay marriage; now its transgender wing, long considered the most subversive, is striving for suburban normalcy too.”
“Like all great art, his plays remain subversive because they have the power to pull us out of the routines and the regulations of our conventional lives.”
“If you or someone you know has engaged in subversive acts or thoughts, call 1-866-445-6580.”
“A subversive is one who works to undermine the structures and shibboleths of society.”
“In many cities there are movements for an easygoing "alternative carnival" which rests on the same historic roots, but is again subversive, funny and unrespectful.”
“Calling opinions in this forum subversive is typical of neocon, nay, facist inability to separate church and state.”
Think Progress » Frist and Torture: What Did He Know and When Did He Know It?
“I'm not convinced that subversive is quite the right word for what that set up has done.”
“Dr Murungaru, who is responsible for the military, reportedly expressed shock that a cartel of high-ranking officers could have been involved in subversive activities by diverting the Land Rovers to Mungiki, as detailed in an exclusive report on the scandal in the Daily Nation yesterday.”
“Vietnam to Cuba; the Cubans were also actively engaged in subversive activities, infiltrating a number of communist youth into the US, and were funneling”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘subversive’.
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GRE Barron's 800
abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abject, abjure, abscission, abscond, abstemious, abstinence, abysmal, accretion and 787 more...
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religion
who is this god person, anyway? (--Douglas Adams)
sachristy, vestry, diocese, papal, cardinal, pope, polygamy, seven, father, chaplain, vestments, blessing and 227 more...
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Bright Folk
Some words I come across in my legal studies, though not really legal jargon. And the usage doesn't shout, "hey, I think I'm smart", just simply, "this is what applies in this context."
verbose, inter alia, ostentatious, usurp, presumptuous, anachronistic, unfettered, sine qua non, amenable, subversive, irreducible, penumbra and 28 more...
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Culture Jamming
appropriate, subvertise, adbust, detournement, carnivalesque, remix, mashup, critical, protest, subvertisement, adbusting, disrupt and 47 more...
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intueri's Words
inveigle, dolorous, archly, feckless, resplendent, concatenation, peripatetic, delightful, cookie, fey, ephemeral, effervescent and 347 more...
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Forgotten meanings
Words of which I constantly forget/confuse the meaning.
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cindywrites's Words
chiaroscuro, mollycoddle, feckless, evocative, provocative, invocation, beckon, allay, becalm, console, lull, soothe and 479 more...
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Is it morning yet?
coterie, lexeme, counterbalance, forthright, pigtail, ponytail, french-braid, barrette, listless, counsel, sitting duck, dead duck and 268 more...
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inkhorn's Words
inkhorn, aplomb, apotheosis, asinine, avatar, bombastic, boorish, bromide, bucolic, cagey, canvass, digress and 991 more...
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The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
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kingofbash's Words
bash, poleaxed, salacious, libertine, charlatan, aplomb, fortuitous, finagle, apoplectic, debutante, carte blanche, aardvark and 472 more...
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kimo2000's Words
pakalolo, miliated, voodoo, vindaloo, hacienda, acquiesce, addlepated, olio, akimbo, apropos, oogenesis, arugula and 181 more...
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Vocab
Words that I come across, and go blank, or want to clarify.
nefarious, edifice, malevolent, ostensible, folderol, bauble, livid, amnesty, calculus, saddlery, maisonette, cuisse and 423 more...
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newGRE
mostly from magoosh
imbue, verge on, nonchalant, deliberate, timorous, futile, provisional, dissect, checked, tinged, alluring, visionary and 1046 more...
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NTDW1
template, modal, sublingual, tandem, polycentric, septuagenarian, token, irrevocable, denotive, augural, aberrant, phlebotomy and 1188 more...
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colin's Words
carmine, puce, asinine, phrenetic, blight, edelweiss, supine, clusterfuck, meme, blobject, doppelganger, mesmerism and 105 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for subversive.
csiders09 I love the example that was used! As artists we tend to be very rebellious against the policies that enforced in society. So we write about the government being overthrown. Oct 5, 2011
Stephy2011 overthrow and ruin. nice. Oct 5, 2011
reesetee Is it more subversive not to admit you've been subversive or to admit you've been subversive?
Never mind. Jan 31, 2009
plethora Maybe, but don't remind me because that'll ruin it. Jan 31, 2009
bilby Have you been subversive today, and perhaps forgotten? Jan 31, 2009
yarb Once you realise you're being subversive, you're no longer being subversive. Jan 31, 2009
plethora I don't think I've ever been subversive :( Jan 31, 2009
bilby Have you been subversive today? Jan 31, 2009