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civil disobedience

[siv-uhl dis-uh-bee-dee-uhns]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

the refusal to obey certain laws or governmental demands for the purpose of influencing legislation or government policy, characterized by the employment of such nonviolent techniques as boycotting, picketing, and nonpayment of taxes.
(initial capital letters, italics)��an essay (1848) by Thoreau.

civil disobedience

noun

a refusal to obey laws, pay taxes, etc: a nonviolent means of protesting or of attempting to achieve political goals

“Civil Disobedience”

(1849) An essay by Henry David Thoreau. It contains his famous statement “That government is best which governs least,” and asserts that people's obligations to their own conscience take precedence over their obligations to their government. Thoreau also argues that if, in following their conscience, people find it necessary to break the laws of the state, they should be prepared to pay penalties, including imprisonment.

civil disobedience

The refusal to obey a law out of a belief that the law is morally wrong.

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Thoreau himself went to jail for refusing to pay a tax to support the Mexican War.

In the nineteenth century, the American author Henry David Thoreau wrote “Civil Disobedience,” an important essay justifying such action.

In the twentieth century, civil disobedience was exercised by Mahatma Gandhi in the struggle for independence in India. Civil disobedience, sometimes called nonviolent resistance or passive resistance, was also practiced by some members of the civil rights movement in the United States, notably Martin Luther King, Jr., to challenge segregation of public facilities; a common tactic of these civil rights supporters was the sit-in. King defended the use of civil disobedience in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

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Word History and Origins

Origin of civil disobedience¹

First recorded in 1865–70

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The department said it is “committed to maintaining an open and transparent relationship with the media and ensuring that journalists can safely perform their duties, especially during protests, acts of civil disobedience, and public gatherings.”

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At the time, handing out syringes was banned, so Parker and his comrades risked their freedom as a public act of civil disobedience, inviting both the press and police, who arrested everyone involved.

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A police spokesperson said that Mr Cohen was charged with crowding, obstructing or incommoding - a misdemeanour offence often used in civil disobedience cases in the US capital.

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But Mr Amsterdam said the more intransigent the government, the more it would spur Chadema's supporters "to push forward and engage in civil disobedience".

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Jake, who did not give his last name, said Tuesday's action is the first in what he described as "civil disobedience".

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