I. -ənt, - ə nt adjective
Etymology: Latin dissident-, dissidens, present participle of dissidēre to sit apart, disagree, from dis- apart + -sidēre (from sedēre to sit) — more at dis- , sit
1.
a. : not agreeing : dissenting : not concurring
psychological theory, like economic theory, is in the hands of several dissident schools — J.S.Gambs
especially : differing often contentiously with an established political or religious system or belief of a country or people
dissident elements within the Thai navy attempted to overthrow Pibul's regime — Current Biography
the aristocrats and dissident politicians demanded that the army demagogue be removed — D.M.Friedenberg
b. : quarrelsome , contentious
what a united, aggressive minority can do to a dissident , lethargic majority — Time
2. : clashingly unharmonious
an aesthetic jungle of dissident , competing buildings — Lewis Mumford
• dis·si·dent·ly -əntlē, -li adverb
II. noun
( -s )
: one that is dissident
the Labor government … had been forced by a number of Labor dissidents to announce a reduction in the period of national service — Woodrow Wyatt
had two dissidents burned alive in 1575 — George Willison
protect the constitutional rights of pacifists and other wartime dissidents — Dwight MacDonald