Origin: Latin suffix -sion
Subversion has 4 different meanings across 1 category:
destroying someone's (or some group's) honesty or loyalty; undermining moral integrity
"corruption of a minor"
"the big city's subversion of rural innocence"
the act of subverting; as overthrowing or destroying a legally constituted government
"The foreign agents attempted to carry out the subversion by inciting riots against the democratically elected president."
The act of subverting or the condition of being subverted.
"In version control, a change that only slightly alters the previous commit may be classified as a subversion rather than a major new version."
A revision considered more similar to preceding subversions than a revision deemed a new "version" is to preceding versions.
In plain English: Subversion is secretly working against an authority to destroy it from within.
"The spy's mission was all about the subversion of the enemy government from within."
Usage: This term is often confused with "sabotage," but it specifically denotes undermining an established system from within rather than destroying it through direct force. Use it when describing ideological, political, or organizational erosion rather than physical damage.
The word entered English through Middle English and Old French as subversion. It originally referred to the act of overthrowing or undermining an established authority or system.