dissident
DIS-ih-duntnounMeaning a person who openly disagrees with an official policy or ruling group
Memory hook DIS-SID: SITS APART from the crowd. When the whole hall stands to cheer the king’s new tax, Lin stays in her seat with her arms crossed; she sits apart, a dissident.
The old kingdom jailed any dissident who spoke out against the king’s harsh taxes.
In context Most members of the club went along with the new rules, but one dissident stood up at every meeting to argue that they were unfair.
Similar dissenter, protester, rebel, nonconformist
Opposite supporter, loyalist, conformist
From Latin dissidere, “to sit apart, to disagree”: dis- (apart) + sedere (to sit).