refusenik
nounEtymology
From refuse + -nik (suffix denoting a nickname for a person who endorses, exemplifies, or is associated with something, often a particular ideology or preference), a calque of Russian отка́зник (otkáznik), from отка́з (otkáz, “denial, refusal, rejection, repudiation”) + -ник (-nik, suffix forming masculine nouns, usually denoting adherents, etc.).
- derived from refutō
- derived from *refūsāre✻
- derived from refuser
- inherited from refusen
Definitions
One of the citizens of the former Soviet Union who was refused permission to emigrate…
One of the citizens of the former Soviet Union who was refused permission to emigrate (typically but not exclusively a Jewish citizen denied permission to immigrate to Israel).
- The refuseniki say they don’t want to change anything in the U.S.S.R., only leave it.
- In 1974, a handful of brave Soviet Jews haunted foreign embassies in Moscow hoping for exit visas. Refuseniks, they were called; the Brezhnev Government wouldn't let them out.
A person who refuses to do something, usually as a protest
A person who refuses to do something, usually as a protest; for example, one who refuses conscription or vaccination.
- Near-synonyms: recusant, decliner, dissenter, objector, protester, defier, maverick, nonconformist, rebel, renegade
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for refusenik. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA