Subvert Meaning
/səbˈvɜːt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo overturn from the foundation; to overthrow; to ruin utterly.
verbTo pervert, as the mind, and turn it from the truth; to corrupt; to confound.
Sentence Examples
Alana, stop trying to subvert the company goals.
Her poems subvert the dominant narrative of "Western civilization."
CEFR Practice Quiz
The hacker tried to ____ the company's secure network from the inside.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Any attempt to ____ the democratic process will be met with strong opposition from the citizens today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English subverten, from Old French subvertir, from Latin subvertō (“to overthrow”, literally “to underturn, turn from beneath”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"He […] razeth your cities, and subverts your towns."
— 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The hacker tried to ____ the company's secure network from the inside.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Any attempt to ____ the democratic process will be met with strong opposition from the citizens today.