nonviolent

American  

[non-vahy-uh-luhnt] / nɒnˈvaɪ ə lənt /

adjective

1. not violent; free of violence.

2. peacefully resistant, as in response to or protest against injustice, especially on moral or philosophical grounds.

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Other Word Forms

• nonviolently adverb

Etymology

Origin of nonviolent

First recorded in 1915–20; non- + violent

Example Sentences

But starting in 2020 any public display of remembrance, however quiet and nonviolent, was banned.

From The Wall Street Journal

King won the Nobel Peace Price in 1964 for his leadership during the Civil Rights movement and commitment to nonviolent protest.

From Barron's

If the protests were disciplined and nonviolent, they could do what King’s strategy was designed to do: separate types, force belief-updating among moderates, and make repression politically costly.

From The Wall Street Journal

In October 1964 the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev was deposed in a nonviolent coup.

From The Wall Street Journal

If such a feat is actually accomplished, it will be thanks to collective, nonviolent power and solidarity — not a lone man with a gun.

From Salon

Related Words

• pacifist
• passive