nonviolent
Americanadjective
-
not violent; free of violence.
-
peacefully resistant, as in response to or protest against injustice, especially on moral or philosophical grounds.
Other Word Forms
- nonviolently adverb
Etymology
Origin of nonviolent
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.
Others carried signs for “Good Trouble,” a phrase calling people to nonviolent protest coined by the late Democratic Rep. John Lewis, whose district included Decatur.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026
The group had gathered at the Quaker Meeting House in Westminster for what was billed as "nonviolent direct action training".
From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026
Other groups are providing nonviolent civil disobedience training, for example, which organizers describe as calling attention to the injustice of the current policy.
From Salon • Feb. 13, 2026
Most nonviolent offenders can earn credits for up to 50% of their sentence, but Velado’s release after serving just under a third of her sentence is less common.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2026
Several months ago the affiliate here in Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct-action program if such were deemed necessary.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
