Why “seditiousness” is a great word
SEDITIOUSNESS — [Noun] The quality or state of being seditious, characterized by incitement of resistance to or insurrection against lawful authority. From the English adjective 'seditious' (from Middle French 'séditieux', from Latin 'seditiosus', meaning 'factious, rebellious', from 'seditio', meaning 'rebellion, insurrection') + the English suffix '-ness' (forming nouns denoting a state or quality). Unlike "treason," which is the overt, capital act of betraying one’s sovereign, or "dissent," which is a legitimate variance of opinion, seditiousness is the acrid atmosphere of incitement, a crime of potential energy. It is the handbill nailed to the church door in the dead of night, the muttered toast in the tavern that falls just short of a plot, and the scent of sweat and smoke in a room where men murmur of uprising—the latent heat that precedes the wildfire.