civil disobediencenoun [ U ]
uk/ˌsɪv.əl dɪs.əˈbiː.di.əns/us/ˌsɪv.əl dɪs.əˈbiː.di.əns/the act by a group of people of refusing to obey laws or pay taxes, as a peaceful way of expressing their disapproval of those laws or taxes and in order to persuade the government to change them:
Gandhi and Martin Luther King both led campaigns of civil disobedience to try to persuade the authorities to change their policies.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Refusing & rejecting
- abnegate
- blow
- bugger
- damned
- demur
- derecognize
- disclaim
- door
- override
- react against sth
- refusal
- shoot
- shun
- sit
- sit sth out
- throw
- throw sth out
- veto
- vote sth down
- wash
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Activism & pressure groups