Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The act or an instance of subverting.
  • noun The condition of being subverted.
  • noun Obsolete Overthrow or ruin.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of subverting or overthrowing, or the state of being overthrown; entire overthrow; utter ruin; destruction.
  • noun The cause of overthrow or destruction.
  • noun Synonyms Overturning, downfall, demolition. See subvert.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of overturning, or the state of being overturned; entire overthrow; an overthrow from the foundation; utter ruin; destruction

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun the act of subverting or the condition of being subverted
  • noun a systematic attempt to overthrow a government by working from within; undermining

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun destroying someone's (or some group's) honesty or loyalty; undermining moral integrity
  • noun the act of subverting; as overthrowing or destroying a legally constituted government

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English subversioun, from Old French subversion, from Late Latin subversiō, subversiōn-, from Latin subversus, past participle of subvertere, to subvert; see subvert.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French subversion.

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Examples

  • Early Wednesday, as part of the strike, the lawyers presented a petition to the High Court in Kampala expressing their concern about what they called the subversion of the rule of law.

    Uganda Lawyers on Three-Day Strike 2011

  • The result of this subversion is a surprisingly mature and complex look at gender politics — revealing the power of comics and science fiction to address feminist issues and to reach a younger, predominantly male audience with a enlightening message.

    It’s a Woman’s World | PopPolitics.com 2004

  • The result of this subversion is a surprisingly mature and complex look at gender politics — revealing the power of comics and science fiction to address feminist issues and to reach a younger, predominantly male audience with a enlightening message.

    It’s a Woman’s World | PopPolitics.com 2004

  • The result of this subversion is a surprisingly mature and complex look at gender politics — revealing the power of comics and science fiction to address feminist issues and to reach a younger, predominantly male audience with a enlightening message.

    Print - It’s a Woman’s World | PopPolitics.com 2004

  • Department and the White House always say that there are three obstacles to improving relations between Cuban and the United States, and they are your allegiance to the Soviet Union, what they call subversion in this hemisphere, and the large number of your troops in Africa.

    THE MACNEIL/LEHRER NEWSHOUR INTERVIEW W/CASTRO 1985

  • It's the report that found assurance of future acts of Japanese-American subversion from the "disturbing and confirming" fact that none had yet been taken.

    Is That Legal?: A Troubling Partial Rehabilitation of Korematsu v. United States 2008

  • It's the report that found assurance of future acts of Japanese-American subversion from the "disturbing and confirming" fact that none had yet been taken.

    Is That Legal?: January 2008 Archives 2008

  • It's the report that found assurance of future acts of Japanese-American subversion from the "disturbing and confirming" fact that none had yet been taken.

    Is That Legal?: Japanese American internment Archives 2007

  • MZS again: "Gleefully sensationalistic and paced like an adults-only shoot-'em-up video game, [The Hills Have Eyes 2 is] ultimately less interested in subversion and subtext than in making viewers squirm, shriek and throw up into their popcorn bags."

    GreenCine Daily: Weekend shorts. 2007

  • But as the Turkish society has been thoroughly Kemalized by the Kemalofascist military, bureaucracy, and judiciary for almost a century, and as it has also been thoroughly Islamized by the their Muslim leaders, with their strong economic base; there is no danger of any form of subversion from the Turkish people against the status quo or any wish for real democracy.

    Wake up Kurdistan! 2008

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