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dissent

dih-SENT /dɪˈsɛnt/

nounverbC1GRESATGMATUPSC

formalpoliticallegal

The expression or holding of opinions at variance with those official or commonly held.

Carries serious principled weight; often involves standing against an established majority or regime.

The story behind the word. Formed from Latin 'dis-' (apart) and 'sentire' (to feel or think), dissent literally translates to 'feeling apart' or thinking differently from the official majority.

Word relationships

disagreement: Disagreement can be mild and informal, whereas dissent implies formal or public challenge to authority.

consensus: Consensus refers to general agreement or unity of opinion across a group.

Commonly confused with

descent: Descent means moving downward or familial ancestry; dissent means holding disagreeing views.

Word family

dissenter (noun): A person who disagrees with official views.
dissenting (adjective): Holding or expressing disagreement.

Collocations

political dissent
voice dissent
suppress dissent
dissenting opinion

Idioms & expressions

dissenting voice in the wilderness

Example sentences

"Justice Harlan wrote a powerful dissent arguing that the Constitution must remain colorblind." Judicial opinions
"A healthy democracy relies on protecting public dissent against governmental policy." Democratic rights

Memory hook

DIS-SENT: SENTing your feeling DIS (away/apart) from the crowd. Feeling apart from the crowd.

When not to use

Avoid using for casual personal disagreements over trivial matters like dinner choices.

Fun facts

In legal history, famous dissenting opinions often become the dominant constitutional majority decades later.