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Which Supreme Court justice signaled dissent with a majority opinion by wearing a black collar?

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dissent

American  

[dih-sent] / dɪˈsɛnt /

verb (used without object)

• dissents,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dissented,
  past participle,  past
• dissenting
  present participle

1. to differ in sentiment or opinion, especially from the majority; withhold assent; disagree (often followed byfrom ).

   Two of the justices dissented from the majority decision.

2. to disagree with the methods, goals, etc., of a political party or government; take an opposing view.

3. to disagree with or reject the doctrines or authority of an established church.

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noun

1. difference of sentiment or opinion.

   Synonyms:

   opposition, dissatisfaction, disagreement

2. dissenting opinion.

3. disagreement with the philosophy, methods, goals, etc., of a political party or government.

   Synonyms:

   opposition, dissatisfaction, disagreement

4. separation from an established church, especially the Church of England; nonconformity.

dissent British  

/ dɪˈsɛnt /

verb

1. to have a disagreement or withhold assent

2. Christianity to refuse to conform to the doctrines, beliefs, or practices of an established church, and to adhere to a different system of beliefs and practices

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noun

1. a difference of opinion

2. Christianity separation from an established church; Nonconformism

3. the voicing of a minority opinion in announcing the decision on a case at law; dissenting judgment

Usage

What's the difference between dissent and descent? Dissent can be a noun meaning disagreement, as in I voiced my dissent, or a verb meaning to disagree, as in The judge is expected to dissent. Descent is a noun that means the act of moving downward (descending), a downward movement, or downward movement in general. The two words are pronounced exactly the same. Perhaps the best way to remember the difference between the two is to think about what related words mean and how they’re spelled. Words related to dissent involve agreement or disagreement and end with -sent, including assent and consent. Words related to descent involve movement and are spelled with sc, including descend, ascent, ascension, and transcend. Here’s an example of dissent and descent used correctly in a sentence. Example: There was dissent among the climbers about whether they should attempt the descent during the storm.

Synonym Usage

Dissent, dissidence mean disagreement with the majority opinion. Dissent may express either withholding of agreement or open disagreement. Dissidence, formerly much the same as dissent, has come to suggest not only strong dissatisfaction but a determined opposition.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dissenter
  noun
• dissenting
  adjective
• nondissenting
  adjective
• undissenting
  adjective
• dissentingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• dissenting
  present
• dissented
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• dissent
  simple
• dissents
  simple
• have dissented
  perfect
• has dissented
  perfect
• am dissenting
  progressive
• are dissenting
  progressive
• is dissenting
  progressive
• have been dissenting
  perfect progressive
• has been dissenting
  perfect progressive

Past

• dissented
  simple
• had dissented
  perfect
• was dissenting
  progressive
• were dissenting
  progressive
• had been dissenting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will dissent
  simple
• will have dissented
  perfect
• will be dissenting
  progressive
• will have been dissenting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of dissent

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English dissenten, from Middle French dissentir, from Latin dissentīre, from dis- dis- ¹ + sentīre “to feel”

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Explanation

To dissent is to publicly disagree with an official opinion or decision. Dissent is also a noun referring to public disagreement. Both verb and noun are often used in reference to a statement by a judge who disagrees with a decision made by other judges. Dissent is also used to refer to political opposition to government policies. The verb derives from Middle English, from Latin dissentire, from the prefix dis- "apart" plus sentire "to feel."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dissent dissents dissented dissenting

It is a party very much united around her, with no murmurings of dissent about her leadership, which is quite the contrast from a year ago.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

This decision, though, was so upsetting that it drew a sharp dissent from Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026

"Both the majority and dissent agree that this case is likely to have limited impact on the midterms," Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a blog post.

From Barron's ● Sep. 25, 2026

Since the beginning of the central bank’s modern era about 50 years ago, it has been extraordinarily rare for a sitting Fed chair to dissent on a decision on interest rates.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

There’s some dissent, but Haymitch takes our part, and by bedtime, we have a compartment across from Prim and my mother, who agrees to keep an eye on us.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

There were three dissents at the Fed’s July meeting in favor of a rate hike.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

The decision to hold the benchmark rate steady between 3.5% and 3.75% drew three dissents from Fed presidents who thought a rate increase was warranted.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

"I don't expect a rate hike, but I do expect dissents," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

The only way to figure out how the justices decided is if there were dissents.

From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026

He dissents, however, from that philosopher, in saying that that series is all we know.

From What is Darwinism? by Charles Hodge

The top court's three liberal justices - Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson - dissented.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

At the committee's last meeting in July, three regional Fed presidents dissented from the decision to hold rates steady, calling for an immediate 0.25 percentage-point hike to tackle inflation.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

But Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. dissented, along with the court’s three liberals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026

Three officials dissented from last month’s decision and at least two others without a vote said they also thought rates should rise.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

The vote was unanimous, although one member, navy undersecretary Ralph Bard, presently dissented from the third recommendation, resigned his post, and proposed to Stimson that the Japanese receive two or three days’ warning.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Bush, disagreed and published a dissenting opinion Thursday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Former Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., who now serves as the mayor of Oakland, cast the only dissenting vote.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026

"The battle for succession has largely remained an in-house rather than a national matter following the weakening of political institutions and the crushing of dissenting voices," said Waluya.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

And as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warned in her solo dissenting opinion from the per curiam order, the real issue is not that the court punted a decision on the merits here.

From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026

We were used to her outbursts during Story; in fact, she became part of Story, the dissenting voice to the way things are, the rebel waiting for the fight to be brought.

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

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Related Words

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