Nonviolence

A principle or practice of pursuing safety, justice, or change without physical violence.

Reach for it when naming a deliberate ethical or strategic commitment, not simple passivity

Their commitment to nonviolence shaped months of disciplined public action.

• everyday

  restraint

  someone chooses not to use available force in a particular moment

  not when Restraint is temporary self-control, not necessarily a sustained principle or movement.

• warm

  peacemaking

  people actively bring parties toward an end to conflict

  not when Peacemaking seeks agreement, while nonviolence can continue firm opposition without settlement.

• warm

  reconciliation

  repairing a damaged relationship is the intended outcome

  not when Reconciliation may be premature or unjust when safety and accountability have not been secured.

• professional

  civil resistance

  organized civilian action uses social, political, or economic pressure

  not when Civil resistance can include tactics not universally regarded as peaceful.

• professional

  peacebuilding

  the work develops relationships and institutions that prevent future conflict

  not when Peacebuilding can follow violence and is not a synonym for refusing violence during confrontation.

• professional

  peaceful resistance

  people actively oppose injustice without physical attack

  not when Peaceful resistance describes a tactic and need not reflect an absolute ethical commitment.

• formal

  pacifism

  the belief rejects war or violence on broad moral grounds

  not when Pacifism is a doctrine and may be wider than a campaign's strategic use of nonviolence.

• literary

  satyagraha

  the context specifically invokes truth-force and the Gandhian tradition

  not when Satyagraha belongs to a particular philosophy and history, not every peaceful protest.

• violence
• armed struggle
• physical aggression

• principle of nonviolence

  The principle of nonviolence governed both the march and its response to provocation.

• commitment to nonviolence

  A commitment to nonviolence required training, coordination, and courage.

• practice of nonviolence

  The practice of nonviolence included protective accompaniment for vulnerable neighbors.

• wiktionary, English noun, definition 1 ↗opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26

The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.