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Definition of civil disobedience noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

civil disobedience

noun
 
/ˌsɪvl dɪsəˈbiːdiəns/
 
/ˌsɪvl dɪsəˈbiːdiəns/
[uncountable]
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  1. action taken by a large group of people in which they refuse to obey particular laws or pay taxes, usually as a form of peaceful political protest
    • He advocated non-violent civil disobedience as a strategy to achieve civil rights.
    • They called for a campaign of civil disobedience if the president did not honour the election results.
    Extra Examples
    • the threat of mass civil disobedience
    • Thoreau practised civil disobedience against an imperialist war.
    • Some groups have been calling for a non-violent civil disobedience campaign.
    Topics Social issuesc2
See civil disobedience in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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