Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for “Civil Disobedience”

civil disobedience

[siv-uhl dis-uh-bee-dee-uhns]

noun

  1. the refusal to obey certain laws or governmental demands for the purpose of influencing legislation or government policy, characterized by the employment of such nonviolent techniques as boycotting, picketing, and nonpayment of taxes.

  2. (initial capital letters, italics),  an essay (1848) by Thoreau.



civil disobedience

noun

  1. a refusal to obey laws, pay taxes, etc: a nonviolent means of protesting or of attempting to achieve political goals

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

“Civil Disobedience”

1
  1. (1849) An essay by Henry David Thoreau. It contains his famous statement “That government is best which governs least,” and asserts that people's obligations to their own conscience take precedence over their obligations to their government. Thoreau also argues that if, in following their conscience, people find it necessary to break the laws of the state, they should be prepared to pay penalties, including imprisonment.

civil disobedience

2
  1. The refusal to obey a law out of a belief that the law is morally wrong.

Discover More

Thoreau himself went to jail for refusing to pay a tax to support the Mexican War.
In the nineteenth century, the American author Henry David Thoreau wrote “Civil Disobedience,” an important essay justifying such action.
In the twentieth century, civil disobedience was exercised by Mahatma Gandhi in the struggle for independence in India. Civil disobedience, sometimes called nonviolent resistance or passive resistance, was also practiced by some members of the civil rights movement in the United States, notably Martin Luther King, Jr., to challenge segregation of public facilities; a common tactic of these civil rights supporters was the sit-in. King defended the use of civil disobedience in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of “Civil Disobedience”1

First recorded in 1865–70
Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

After Fonda and Turner divorced, she worked with Tomlin on raising the minimum wage in Michigan and then launched Fire Drill Fridays — acts of civil disobedience — with Greenpeace in 2019.

“If that does happen, there is never a more justified moment for civil disobedience, there never will be.”

From Salon

In the lead-up to Wednesday's protests, Let's Block Everything urged people to take part in acts of civil disobedience against "austerity, contempt and humiliation".

From BBC

Authorities are bracing for nationwide disruption on Wednesday, with the Bloquons Tout movement urging citizens to bring the country to a standstill through protest and acts of civil disobedience against "austerity, contempt and humiliation".

From BBC

"I don't think anybody in London even understands just how close we are to civil disobedience on a vast scale in this country," Farage said in a speech on Monday.

From BBC

Advertisement

Related Words

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


civil defensecivil engineer