as in rebellious
given to resisting authority or another's control
the junior officer was court-martialed for being insubordinate
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in rebel
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of insubordinate
David Browne, Rolling Stone, 17 Feb. 2025
Insomnia is a mark of the insubordinate imagination.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
Joey attempts to help Monica gain respect among the insubordinate kitchen staff at her new job, and things don't go well for Rachel when Chandler sets her up on a bad date with a colleague.
—Eric Todisco, People.com, 15 Dec. 2024
Instead, over-centralization has produced the opposite effect, fragmenting the bureaucracy, encouraging bureaucrats to pursue their own interests, and enabling regional elites to become increasingly insubordinate—with Ramzan Kadyrov, Putin’s strongman in Chechnya, being the prime example.
—Alexander J. Motyl, Foreign Affairs, 27 Jan. 2016
See All Example Sentences for insubordinate
Adjective
At the start of its fourth season, SNL was no longer the insubordinate new kid on the block.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 17 Feb. 2025
Insomnia is a mark of the insubordinate imagination.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
Joey attempts to help Monica gain respect among the insubordinate kitchen staff at her new job, and things don't go well for Rachel when Chandler sets her up on a bad date with a colleague.
—Eric Todisco, People.com, 15 Dec. 2024
Instead, over-centralization has produced the opposite effect, fragmenting the bureaucracy, encouraging bureaucrats to pursue their own interests, and enabling regional elites to become increasingly insubordinate—with Ramzan Kadyrov, Putin’s strongman in Chechnya, being the prime example.
—Alexander J. Motyl, Foreign Affairs, 27 Jan. 2016
See All Example Sentences for insubordinate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insubordinate
Adjective
-
Silicon Valley definitely has so much of that rebellious spirit.—
Andre Byik,
USA Today,
10 Nov. 2025
-
On Tracker, Ackles portrays Russell, Colter’s charismatic and rebellious older brother, who has a similar skill set and lack of stable home life.—
Katie Mannion,
PEOPLE,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The London punk rebels seized the revolutionary spirit of 1977 with their raw manifesto The Clash, then refined their sound with the flawed Give ‘Em Enough Rope.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
9 Nov. 2025
-
Meanwhile, over in Britain, a vibrant antiwar movement brought on motion after motion in Parliament to cease fire and end all offensive operations against the rebels.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Cushla’s world is full of defiant spirits, including her mother, a woman struggling with addiction who spends most of her days bound to her living room and the bottom of a bottle.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
5 Nov. 2025
-
The mayor-elect was defiant in his victory speech.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
That revelation prodded insurgents in British possessions from Ireland to Sierra Leone to take to the streets to assert their own ambitions for economic and political autonomy over the decades to come.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Ilana presents herself as a stout-hearted reformer who’s being targeted by fascistic insurgents but is secretly evil enough to engineer an apocalypse.—
Matt Zoller Seitz,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The experience served as an extreme way to learn what Everest requires of its challengers.—
Zoey Lyttle,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
-
In Orange and Osceola Counties, an area with a large population of Puerto Rican voters, DeSantis’ Democratic challenger Charlie Crist still edged out a win.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Newsom got another fix of national media attention to bolster his image as resister-in-chief to the commander-in-chief, in apparent preparation for a 2028 presidential campaign.—
Dan Walters,
Oc Register,
23 Sep. 2025
-
The answer is that France at this time was attempting to heal its wartime wounds, papering over the cracks in the social fabric that had opened up during the German Occupation and positioning itself as a nation of resisters, in which collaborators had been few and aberrant.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
30 July 2025
Noun
-
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
-
Few among the bureaucratic, business, and even military elites denounced the mutineers, exposing limited support for Putin.—
ANDREI YAKOVLEV,
Foreign Affairs,
16 May 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 15 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share