dissented; dissenting; dissents
1
: to withhold assent or approval
2
: to differ in opinion
Three of the justices dissented from the majority opinion.
: difference of opinion
heard voices of dissent at the meeting
: such as
a
: religious nonconformity
permitted no dissent from church teachings
b
law
: a justice's nonconcurrence with a decision of the majority
cited an earlier case in her dissent
called also dissenting opinion
c
: political opposition to a government or its policies
attempts to suppress domestic dissent
Synonyms
Examples of dissent in a Sentence
Verb
The Supreme Court, with two justices dissenting, ruled that the law was constitutional.
anyone who dissented was encouraged to speak out while they had the chance
Noun
Church leaders permitted no dissent from church teachings.
He did everything in his power to suppress political dissent.
These dissents come from prominent scientists and should not be ignored.
She argued in her dissent that Congress had exceeded its authority.
Recent Examples on the Web
Daniel Moore, Axios, 4 Nov. 2024
The decision threatened to confuse voters, according to judges who dissented from the decision.
—Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 2 Nov. 2024
Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 5 Nov. 2024
Most in Becker's comment section agree—modern beauty standards are a beast, and social media is feeding it, but some voices are growing more powerful in their dissent.
—Marco Rubio, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dissent 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
The commission should be encouraging development of data centers and semiconductor manufacturing as national security and economic development priorities, said FERC Chairman Willie Phillips, a Democrat who dissented on the order.
—Daniel Moore, Axios, 4 Nov. 2024
The decision threatened to confuse voters, according to judges who dissented from the decision.
—Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 2 Nov. 2024
Noun
In his dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens sounded the alarm of the high court doubting the capacity of state judges to make the right calls on how to handle recounts.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 5 Nov. 2024
Most in Becker's comment section agree—modern beauty standards are a beast, and social media is feeding it, but some voices are growing more powerful in their dissent.
—Marco Rubio, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dissent
Articles Related to dissent
Dictionary Entries Near dissent
Cite this Entry
“Dissent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dissent. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
dissent
1 of 2 intransitive verb
dis·sent
di-ˈsent 
1
: to withhold assent or approval
unfair squeezeout transactions—the kind to which public shareholders seem most likely to dissent—R. C. Clark
see also appraisal
R. C. ClarkNote: A shareholder who dissents from a proposed transaction may demand that the corporation buy his or her shares after an appraisal.
2
: to differ in opinion
dissenter
noun
dissent
2 of 2 noun1
: difference of opinion
especially
: a judge's disagreement with the decision of the majority
2
: dissenting opinion at opinion
3
: the judge or group of judges that dissent compare majority
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share