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• civil disobedience
  civil disobedience

  noun

  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.
• “Civil Disobedience”
  “Civil Disobedience”

  (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

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

Civil disobedience has a long history in social movements, including in the fight for the vote for women and the U.S. civil rights movement.

From Reuters • Aug. 10, 2023

Civil disobedience hampered transport, banking services and government agencies, slowing an economy already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 28, 2022

Civil disobedience campaigns were a hallmark of MLK.

From New York Times • Mar. 28, 2018

For fun: Civil disobedience in the form of a glitter-strewn queer dance party on the streets of D.C.

From Slate • Jan. 20, 2017

Civil disobedience was not to be understood merely as law-breaking.

From The Black Experience in America by Coombs, Norman

Related Words

• protest march