civil disobedience — civil dis·obe·di·ence n: refusal to obey governmental demands or commands esp. as a nonviolent and usu. collective means of forcing concessions from the government Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. civil disobedience … Law dictionary
civil disobedience — civil diso bedience noun uncount a form of political protest in which large numbers of people refuse to obey a law: Gandhi s campaign of civil disobedience against the British authorities … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
civil disobedience — coined 1866 by Thoreau as title of an essay originally published (1849) as Resistance to Civil Government … Etymology dictionary
Civil Disobedience — [ sɪvɪl dɪsə biːdjəns, englisch], politischer Begriff, ziviler Ungehorsam … Universal-Lexikon
civil disobedience — ► NOUN ▪ the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes, as a political protest … English terms dictionary
civil disobedience — n. nonviolent opposition to a government policy or law by refusing to comply with it, on the grounds of conscience: see also NONCOOPERATION, PASSIVE RESISTANCE … English World dictionary
Civil disobedience — For other uses, see Civil disobedience (disambiguation). Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a figure known worldwide for advocating non violent civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and … Wikipedia
civil disobedience — 1. 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. Cf.… … Universalium
civil disobedience — noun a group s refusal to obey a law because they believe the law is immoral (as in protest against discrimination) Thoreau wrote a famous essay justifying civil disobedience • Hypernyms: ↑direct action • Hyponyms: ↑sit in, ↑protest march * * *… … Useful english dictionary
civil disobedience — N UNCOUNT Civil disobedience is the refusal by ordinary people in a country to obey laws or pay taxes, usually as a protest. The opposition threatened a campaign of civil disobedience … English dictionary