mutiny
verb
mutinied; mutinying; mutinies
: to rise against or refuse to obey or observe authority
He mutinied not just against God but against the older generation of Romanian intellectuals.—
Will Blythe
Will Blythe
specifically, of soldiers, sailors, etc.
: to rebel against military authority : to stage a mutiny
Months wore on, and about half of [Christopher] Columbus's men mutinied and tried to sail by canoe to Hispaniola. —Owen Gingerich
Owen Gingerich In April 1779 a draft of sixty men from the 71st Highlanders mutinied when they were told they were to go to America and refused to march aboard the transports. —Christopher Hibbert
Christopher Hibbert Examples of mutiny in a Sentence
the party's conservative faction mutinied just before the election
Recent Examples on the Web
Starmer’s premiership is on a knife-edge this week as a significant number of Labour Party MPs have openly mutinied, calling for the PM to resign immediately, or to set out a timetable for his departure.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 12 May 2026
Treated by many Americans as a traitor who had mutinied, Mr. Thompson was threatened with prosecution by lawmakers before being recognized decades later as a hero.
—Anna Mulrine Grobe, Christian Science Monitor, 6 Dec. 2025
The 16th-century adventurer, who first circumnavigated the globe by sea in 1522, wavers beneath the pressure of his pursuit, ultimately leading his men to mutiny and madness on the Malay Archipelago.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 18 Nov. 2025
In 1841, John Quincy Adams stood before the Supreme Court and defended a group of enslaved captives who mutinied aboard the Spanish slave ship Amistad.
—Time, 24 Sep. 2025
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Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 12 May 2026
Treated by many Americans as a traitor who had mutinied, Mr. Thompson was threatened with prosecution by lawmakers before being recognized decades later as a hero.
—Anna Mulrine Grobe, Christian Science Monitor, 6 Dec. 2025
The 16th-century adventurer, who first circumnavigated the globe by sea in 1522, wavers beneath the pressure of his pursuit, ultimately leading his men to mutiny and madness on the Malay Archipelago.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 18 Nov. 2025
In 1841, John Quincy Adams stood before the Supreme Court and defended a group of enslaved captives who mutinied aboard the Spanish slave ship Amistad.
—Time, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mutiny
Cite this Entry
“Mutiny.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mutiny. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mutiny
noun
mu·ti·ny
ˈmyüt-ᵊn-ē 
ˈmyüt-nē
plural mutinies
: refusal to obey authority
especially
: a military outbreak against the officer in charge
mutiny
verb
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