ISEE/SSAT Vocabulary BuilderWordsSsubvert
ISEE/SSAThard
subvert
Meaning: to undermine or overthrow an established system or authority
subvert in a sentence
How subvert is used in real sentences:
The whistleblower's leaked documents subverted the company's official story.
Critics claimed the new rule would subvert decades of established tradition.
“Yet Mara focused on evidence: paired cameras revealed that the bridge did not merely redirect a trail but could subvert the colony's established system for moving food and young.”
— from the passage The Tremor Above
“Several actors began murmuring that they should subvert the director's authority by rejecting his casting decisions and electing leads themselves.”
— from the passage The Chair at Center Stage
“A few critics even claimed that institutions concealed contrary evidence to subvert academic authority, though the archives revealed disagreement rather than conspiracy.”
— from the passage The Disputed Leaves
Also read it in: The Patient Burn
Synonyms for subvert
Other words for subvert — undermine, sabotage and topple — carry the same meaning.
- undermine
- sabotage
- topple
Antonyms of subvert
Words that mean the opposite of subvert:
- support
- uphold
Where it comes from
From Latin subvertere 'to turn upside down'
Word parts
Memory hook
SUB-VERT — to flip something upside down from below, quietly wrecking it.