civil disobedience
noun
: refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the government
Examples of civil disobedience in a Sentence
In an act of civil disobedience, the family sent its tax money to an antiwar organization.
A student organization is encouraging civil disobedience as a way to get the university to change its policies.
Recent Examples on the Web
Those protests would culminate in acts of nonviolent civil disobedience.
—
Jay Stahl, USA TODAY, 3 July 2024
This school year, Berkeley struggled with how to handle civil disobedience over the Israel-Hamas war.
—Kurt Streeter, New York Times, 6 June 2024
In recent months, several colleges have disciplined pro-Palestinian activists for ordinary speech acts and mobilized force against their acts of civil disobedience.
—Eric Levitz, Vox, 15 May 2024
Nonviolent civil disobedience, throughout American history, has demonstrably been the most effective tool through which minds are changed.
—Gregory Meeks, New York Daily News, 8 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for civil disobedience 
Jay Stahl, USA TODAY, 3 July 2024
This school year, Berkeley struggled with how to handle civil disobedience over the Israel-Hamas war.
—Kurt Streeter, New York Times, 6 June 2024
In recent months, several colleges have disciplined pro-Palestinian activists for ordinary speech acts and mobilized force against their acts of civil disobedience.
—Eric Levitz, Vox, 15 May 2024
Nonviolent civil disobedience, throughout American history, has demonstrably been the most effective tool through which minds are changed.
—Gregory Meeks, New York Daily News, 8 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for civil disobedience
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'civil disobedience.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near civil disobedience
Cite this Entry
“Civil disobedience.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civil%20disobedience. Accessed 17 Sep. 2024.
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