subversive
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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countersubversivenoun
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nonsubversivenessnoun
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subversivenessnoun
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subversivismnoun
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unsubversivenessnoun
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nonsubversiveadjective
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self-subversiveadjective
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unsubversiveadjective
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nonsubversivelyadverb
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subversivelyadverb
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unsubversivelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of subversive
1635–45; < Latin subvers ( us ) (past participle of subvertere to subvert ) + -ive
Explanation
You might want to call someone subversive if they are sneakily trying to undermine something, from the social structure of your high school to an entire system of government. You can use subversive as a noun or an adjective without changing it one whit. Note the prefix sub, meaning "underneath," with the remainder coming from the Latin vertere, "to turn." Think about a subversive as a sneaky kind of revolutionary who tries to turn the system from underneath. Art or literature is considered subversive if it attempts to undermine the dominant values and traditions of a society.
Vocabulary lists containing subversive
Unit 1: Telling Details
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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.
See Examples For:
Charli's new songs find her grappling with whether she can stay true to her pugnacious, subversive roots while enjoying commercial success and personal happiness.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
His pictures, deemed subversive, were stripped from German museums, and he and his family fled to Switzerland.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
It puts you in your place and, whether you realize it or not, it’s a subversive way of controlling the outcome and discouraging you from using your voice.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 6, 2026
Although the logo is meant to be subversive and ironic, Tampa fans took it as a cue and started to chant “USA! USA!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
Anything of a subversive or out-and-out nasty nature, that is.
From "The Misfits" by James Howe
These Super Glue subversives have been derided as publicity-seeking Philistines and hailed as martyrs for a vital cause.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 27, 2022
Some of them provided for the roundup and detention of Americans who were on a list of so-called subversives.
From Salon ● May 23, 2022
As Louis frames it, family is the template for, and the creature of, the state, with its brutal leadership, its sycophantic enablers, its goons and its subversives.
From New York Times ● May 23, 2022
A mission to find subversives within San Francisco’s Chinese community has far-reaching consequences for an FBI agent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2020
"McCarthyism" became a catchphrase for the hunt for communist subversives, a frenzy that would engulf the United States for the rest of the 1950s.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
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.
