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subversion

UK/sʌbˈvɜː.ʃən/US/sʌ̈bˈvɝ.ʒən/
nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,142 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: subversions

Subversion is quietly undermining a system from inside. Charged with subversion, cultural subversion, acts of subversion.

It works by degrees rather than by force, which is what makes it hard to prosecute and easy to allege — subversion laws are a standard tool against opposition. In art and storytelling, subverting a convention means setting up an expectation and breaking it. Note that the Latin means turning from below.

Definitions of subversion

  1. 1nounsubversionQuietly undermining a system from inside.C1

    “The secret police watched artists and writers closely for any sign of subversion.”

subversion is an undermining.

Where it comes from

Latin subversio comes from subvertere, to overturn — sub plus vertere, to turn. Convert and version come from the same turning.

  1. Old French

    subversion

  2. Middle English

    subversion

  3. English, today

    subversion

Middle English subversion, subversioun, from Old French subversion.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Spying & Secrecy

Practise this word

subversion in the wild

  • Foreign subversion is generally perceived to be a hostile attack.

    Subversion

  • A subversive is something or someone carrying the potential for some degree of subversion.

    Subversion

  • In more recent times, accusations such as "illegal possession of state secret" and "inciting subversion of state power" carry long jail terms.

    Political offences in China

  • Inciting subversion of state power is a crime under the law of the People's Republic of China.

    Inciting subversion of state power

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.