civil disobedience

American  

[siv-uhl dis-uh-bee-dee-uhns] / ˈsɪv əl ˌdɪs əˈbi di əns /

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.

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civil disobedience British  

noun

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

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“Civil Disobedience” ¹ Cultural  

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.

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civil disobedience ² Cultural  

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

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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.”

Etymology

Origin of civil disobedience

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

Afterwards, Gandhi presided over waves of civil disobedience protests, encouraging supporters of the Indian National Congress to manufacture contraband salt, boycott foreign goods, and face down phalanxes of lathi-wielding policemen.

From BBC

“These are people who were, out of conscience, making a decision to engage in an act of civil disobedience,” she told the judge.

From Los Angeles Times

The letter, addressed to white clergymen critical of King’s anti-segregation protests, defended nonviolent civil disobedience as a tactic in the fight for racial justice.

From The Wall Street Journal

“It’s in the tradition of this country to protest for justice, to engage in acts of civil disobedience,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal

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.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• protest march