as in sabotage
secret efforts to weaken or ruin a political system or government from within
They were arrested on charges of political subversion.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
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 subversion
The big picture: Lawyers for the Justice Department argued in the court filing Wednesday that there was no legal basis for preventing the release of the portion of the report related to Trump's election subversion case.
—
Erin Doherty, Axios, 8 Jan. 2025
Now Trachtenberg is chasing Prey with an even more radical subversion of the franchise formula: a Predator movie that makes the Predator the protagonist!
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2025
However, Trump's two pending criminal matters—felony election subversion cases in Georgia and at the federal level—are all but certain to be dismissed or at least set aside due to his election victory, since sitting presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted under the law.
—George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024
Lai, a billionaire media tycoon who had long been a thorn in the side of Beijing, was arrested in August 2020, shortly after the central Chinese government imposed a national security law that criminalizes secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.
—Jennifer Jett, NBC News, 12 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for subversion 
Erin Doherty, Axios, 8 Jan. 2025
Now Trachtenberg is chasing Prey with an even more radical subversion of the franchise formula: a Predator movie that makes the Predator the protagonist!
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2025
However, Trump's two pending criminal matters—felony election subversion cases in Georgia and at the federal level—are all but certain to be dismissed or at least set aside due to his election victory, since sitting presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted under the law.
—George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024
Lai, a billionaire media tycoon who had long been a thorn in the side of Beijing, was arrested in August 2020, shortly after the central Chinese government imposed a national security law that criminalizes secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.
—Jennifer Jett, NBC News, 12 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for subversion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subversion
Noun
-
The Administration’s national security leaders wanted the partnership to focus on intelligence gathering and the CIA was forbidden from assisting the Ukrainians in conducting lethal or sabotage operations targeting Russia, the ex-officials said.—
Patrick Reevell,
ABC News,
17 Jan. 2025
-
Officials attribute many of these operations to Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU, though the Kremlin has dismissed previous Western claims that Russia sponsored acts of sabotage and attacks in Europe.—
Michael Gfoeller And David H. Rundell,
Newsweek,
15 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
The violent insurrection overshadowed the final days of Trump's first term and seemed at the time almost certain to rule out any future bid for the presidency.—
Justin Gest,
Newsweek,
20 Jan. 2025
-
The committee spent 18 months investigating Trump and the violent insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
20 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Yoon has presidential immunity from most criminal prosecutions, but the privilege doesn’t extend to allegations of rebellion or treason.—
Hyung-Jin Kim,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2025
-
Yoon has presidential immunity from most criminal prosecutions, but the privilege does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason.—
Joel Thayer,
Newsweek,
26 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Some see hope in Trump’s return Jan. 19, 2025 Separately, law enforcement authorities are investigating whether Yoon and others committed rebellion, abuse of power and other crimes in connection with the martial law decree.—
Hyung-Jin Kim,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Jan. 2025
-
The four are made to watch a corporate propaganda video (voiced by Keanu Reeves), which depicts their season 1 rebellion in a positive light, a protest that improved the company for the better.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes,
20 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
After a term marked by civil unrest, incompetence, moral and ethical failures, conspiracy theories, extremism, mismanaging COVID, and overseeing Republican losses in the House and the Senate, America was decidedly tired of Trump’s ineptitude and self-destructiveness.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
22 Jan. 2025
-
But unlike when Trump helped spark a mob of his supporters to attack the Capitol and tried to retain power in 2021 after his loss to Democrat Joe Biden, officials are not expecting massive protests, unrest or violence.—
Will Weissert,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
This would be immediately followed by my dad standing up, racing over to my uncle, and sometimes grabbing him by the collar to stop him from completing an action that in their eyes seemed to be an act of utter betrayal and treachery.—
Wayne Chan,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 Jan. 2025
-
Welcome back for another season full of [Alan Cumming voice] deception, backstabbing and treachery!—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
9 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near subversion
Cite this Entry
“Subversion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subversion. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share