protest

B1 Topic:Social Issues & Human Rights

US /ˈpɹoʊ.tɛst/ UK /ˈpɹəʊ.tɛst/ See IPA manual

Freq #4679

Meanings

1

noun
A strong public expression of disagreement or disapproval.

Thousands joined the protest against the new law.
2

verb
To publicly show strong disagreement with something.

They protested against the closing of the school.
3

verb
To object strongly to something.

"That's not fair!" he protested.
4

verb
To declare something firmly, especially when others doubt you.

The suspect protested his innocence.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

dissent objection protestation

Word family

Forms protestedprotestingprotestinglyprotests

Derived forms antiprotestcounterprotestcyberprotestecoprotestnonprotestprotestableprotestant protestation protesterprotestiveprotestwaresupraprotest

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

The lady doth protest too much

Simplified etymology

Protest ultimately belongs to the family derived from Latin testis, meaning “witness.” It entered English in the late Middle Ages and is related historically to attest and testify.

Etymology

PIE word *tréyes From the Middle English verb protesten, from Old French protester, from Latin prōtestārī, from prō + testor, from testis (“witness”).

*per- Proto-Indo-European protester Old French prōtestor Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Social Issues & Human Rights

External links

# protest

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈpɹoʊ.tɛst/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpɹəʊ.tɛst/
**Frequency rank:** 4679

## Meanings
1. A strong public expression of disagreement or disapproval.
2. To publicly show strong disagreement with something.
3. To object strongly to something.
4. To declare something firmly, especially when others doubt you.

## Examples
- Thousands joined the protest against the new law.
- They protested against the closing of the school.
- "That's not fair!" he protested.
- The suspect protested his innocence.

## Synonyms
- dissent
- objection
- protestation

## Derived Forms
- antiprotest
- counterprotest
- cyberprotest
- ecoprotest
- nonprotest
- protestable
- protestant
- protestation
- protester
- protestive
- protestware
- supraprotest

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *per-
- Root: protester
- Root: prōtestor

## Etymology
PIE word *tréyes From the Middle English verb protesten, from Old French protester, from Latin prōtestārī, from prō + testor, from testis (“witness”).

## AI Etymology
Protest comes from the Middle English verb protesten, from Old French protester, from Latin prōtestārī, from prō + testor, from testis (“witness”). The historical chain includes *per- (Proto-Indo-European), protester (Old French), prōtestor (Latin). In present-day English it covers a strong public expression of disagreement or disapproval, to publicly show strong disagreement with something, and to object strongly to something. The wider family includes derived forms such as antiprotest, counterprotest, cyberprotest, ecoprotest, nonprotest.

## Topics
- Social Issues & Human Rights

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