protest

«protest» in Mova's school dictionary: A strong public show of disagreement, such as a march or… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a protest, protests); verb (protest, protests, protested, protesting)

meaning for a pupil

1) (noun) A strong public show of disagreement, such as a march or rally: a protest against the new road. tree →

2) (verb) To say or show strongly that you disagree or object: The children protested when the trip was cancelled. tree →

3) (formal) To say firmly that something is true when others doubt it: He protested that he was innocent. tree →

4) «Under protest» means doing something while complaining. tree →

sense in the lessons

In history and news, people protest peacefully for rights or against unfair laws; peaceful protest is a right in many countries. In stories children protest about bedtime. In maths a problem may give numbers of protesters to add or compare. Phrases: «in protest», «a peaceful protest», «protest against», «under protest», «protest your innocence».

examples

• Thousands joined the protest against pollution. tree →
• The children protested loudly when the rain stopped play. tree →
• He protested that he had not taken the cake. tree →
• She ate her broccoli under protest. tree →
• The protest was peaceful and calm. tree →
• 300 people joined the protest, then 150 more came. tree →
• They walked out in protest. tree →
• "But it's not fair!" she protested. tree →
• So they sent a deputation to him to protest against his action. tree →

note

Stress shift: noun PRO-test, verb pro-TEST. Person: a protester (or protestor). In the US «protest something» (no «against») is common; in the UK «protest against/about». Protests should be peaceful and safe.

In the corpora

• When people want something changed, they can protest peacefully, sign a petition, or stop work together in a strike.
• A protest is people gathering to show they strongly agree or disagree with something; in free countries peaceful protest is a right.
• The Mole protests — too late, too dark, and the Rat's supper!
• Toad protests: «you wouldn't surely have Mr.
• "Civil unrest" means riots and protests.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «protest» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.