as in rebellious
given to resisting authority or another's control
the junior officer was court-martialed for being insubordinate
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in rebel
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of insubordinate
Literary Hub, 24 Feb. 2026
In a coastal town on the Gulf of Mexico lives the insubordinate Daniel, the owner of a small motel.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 17 Feb. 2026
If a Texas sheriff is insubordinate or doesn't comply with SB 8, the attorney general has the authority to file a court order and face potential legal penalties.
—Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 30 Dec. 2025
Weiss' defenders have blasted the show's staff as insubordinate and misdirected.
—Arkansas Online, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for insubordinate
Adjective
No one’s arc is insubordinate; no one’s emotional logic is insignificant.
—Literary Hub, 24 Feb. 2026
In a coastal town on the Gulf of Mexico lives the insubordinate Daniel, the owner of a small motel.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 17 Feb. 2026
If a Texas sheriff is insubordinate or doesn't comply with SB 8, the attorney general has the authority to file a court order and face potential legal penalties.
—Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 30 Dec. 2025
Weiss' defenders have blasted the show's staff as insubordinate and misdirected.
—Arkansas Online, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for insubordinate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insubordinate
Adjective
-
As a whole, the return of the Ninja 300 feels almost rebellious in today's motorcycle market.—
Utkarsh Sood
June 13,
New Atlas,
13 June 2026
-
Difficult teenage years with lots of poor decisions and rebellious behavior.—
Eric Thomas,
Sun Sentinel,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
Mahamat Idriss Déby, 42, seized power in Chad after his father, Idriss Déby, was killed fighting rebels in 2021, before winning elections in 2024.—
Farai Mutsaka,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
-
The group has been responsible for current President Faustin-Archange Touadéra’s security and for fighting rebel groups.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
As for his own future, Lapid remains defiant, even as sources of financing and festival platforms risk becoming scarcer.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
18 June 2026
-
This is a book about hope — the stubborn, defiant belief that even after life breaks us open, light can still pour through the cracks.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
15 June 2026
Noun
-
In 2022, French forces departed Mali as insurgents made incursions into the capital, Bamako.—
Kaitlyn Rabe,
The Conversation,
16 June 2026
-
But now the onetime insurgent sits atop a sprawling establishment.—
Jesse Bedayn,
Chicago Tribune,
16 June 2026
Noun
-
Kaplan appeared to have secured the majority necessary to win the election outright, preventing a November runoff against challenger Jenn Chawla, who held 42% of the vote.—
Reeti Malhotra,
Sacbee.com,
13 June 2026
-
There were no challengers running against him.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
13 June 2026
Noun
-
Clemson resister Dabo Swinney has driven his program into the ground.—
Stewart Mandel,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
-
In November 1971, Berkeley, California, became the first sanctuary city in the country when 12 local churches inspired the City Council to pass a resolution offering sanctuary to draft resisters.—
Menika Dirkson,
The Conversation,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Pitcairn is well-known as the island on which Fletcher Christian and other British mutineers from the HMS Bounty took refuge after the 1789 events that toppled Capt.—
Matthew Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
-
Language purists like to remind anyone who will listen that decimation actually means the slaughter of one in ten people, and was the military punishment wielded by the Roman army against deserters and mutineers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The uniform of the conformist — sports shirt, cardigan, tennis shoes — is as easily recognized as that of the recusant — dirty white T, sideburns, two days’ growth of beard.—
Chris Jones,
chicagotribune.com,
15 July 2019
Cite this Entry
“Insubordinate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insubordinate. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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