It is common to read a word and predict its surface meaning from its context. Instead of analyzing their underlying meaning, humans tend to treat words as generic, as if they were the same thing. This happens with the terms disagreement and dissent. At first glance, it might appear that they had identical meetings, but is this true? Daniel J. Boorstin argues that there is a distinction between these terms in The Decline of Radicalism (1969) and, without a doubt, it makes sense to differentiate these words not by their appearance but by their meaning. Boorstin states that these terms differ because of their roots, their effects on humans, and their consequences on societies. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The meaning of a word is determined by its history. According to Boorstin, “disagreements” and “dissent” differ because the latter derives from the Latin dis and sentire, which literally means to feel separated from others. In contrast, disagreement means having a lack of consensus or having different or contradictory opinions on a topic. Because therefore historically these words differ in their meaning. From another perspective, words produce different effects among small groups. “Those who disagree argue, but those who decide argue,” states the author, distinguishing the effects of words. For this reason, people who disagree are more likely to argue to reach a consensus and find a better solution. However, people who disagree are more likely to end up physically, emotionally, or spatially destroyed. For example, when a small group of friends or family discusses a controversial topic, say LGBT rights, people express their opinions. If some people disagree with the opinions of others, they will address what they think could be improved in their opinion. However, if people disagree, they will be completely intolerant of other people's opinions and will probably end up arguing. As a result, the terms have different meanings because they exert different pressures and cause different results. Likewise, terms have different effects on formal societies. Boorstin states: “A liberal society thrives on disagreement but is killed by dissent. Disagreement is the lifeblood of democracy, dissent is its cancer." As the blood is pumped and detoxified through the vessels, so topics are debated and improved to perfection by the members of a society. Just as cancer destroys healthy cells by turning them into tiny malignant cells, dissent divides and influences in such a way that the result is a polarized society with greedy intentions to get others to join their side to fight against the other. This happens all over the world within governments: usually, in first world countries, people disagree on laws but adapt them until they are right, while in third world countries citizens who are against the laws they dissent and the nation becomes polarized. Due to the diverse and complex consequences these terms have on a society, the words have different meanings. While some may think that because one term can lead to another, they have the same meaning, they are still on different levels and exert different forces. While some may think they have the same meaning because they are synonymous, not all phrases have the same definitions. Synonyms may resemble an original word, but they will always have different meanings. In conclusion, dissent and disagreement have different meanings because. (1916)., 98(2), 224.