as in rebellious
given to resisting authority or another's control
the junior officer was court-martialed for being insubordinate
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as in rebel
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Recent Examples of insubordinate
Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2025
Respondents said those issues include violent, destructive or insubordinate behavior by the students.
—Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
The slogan put the audience in the shoes of a casually bigoted, insubordinate alcoholic who bends the NYPD’s rules in pursuit of drug runners.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 27 Feb. 2025
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
Sean Audy with the Will County sheriff’s office said the defendant also caused trouble at the Will County jail, including threatening a deputy, being insubordinate and uncooperative.
—Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2025
Respondents said those issues include violent, destructive or insubordinate behavior by the students.
—Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
The slogan put the audience in the shoes of a casually bigoted, insubordinate alcoholic who bends the NYPD’s rules in pursuit of drug runners.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 27 Feb. 2025
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
-
This news might come to many fans' surprise—but the sassy, whip-smart, and rebellious feminist Eloise Bridgerton does not stay single.—
Christina Perrier,
InStyle,
31 Jan. 2026
-
With the sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Pluto all in Aquarius, the collective mood is future-focused, innovative, and a little rebellious.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The rebel militias under Ahmed al-Sharaa’s command had been lobbying for Turkey’s permission to launch a military operation, and finally, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gave it to them.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Violette briefly resurfaced in 2018 with a small solo show at Gladstone’s Upper East Side town house—an improbably tasteful site for an erstwhile rebel.—
Rachel Wetzler,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Other defiant moments on a global stage The NFL has long maintained guardrails around the halftime show, particularly when performances edge toward political commentary.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Bill and Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify in person to a Republican congressional investigation into notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, apparently ending their defiant campaign of resistance.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Authorities in the southwestern province are battling one of the deadliest flare-ups in years, as insurgents in the resource-rich province bordering Iran and Afghanistan step up assaults on security forces, civilians and infrastructure.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Nigeria’s military killed a top Boko Haram commander and 10 insurgents in a night raid in the northeastern state of Borno.—
Dyepkazah Shibayan,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Another challenger, OneWeb, is operated by France's Eutelsat and has a constellation of more than 600 satellites.—
Annie Palmer,
CNBC,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Starbucks has other challengers, like the fast-growing drive-thru chains 7 Brew, Scooter’s Coffee and Dutch Bros.—
Dee-Ann Durbin,
Fortune,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Sherrill focused many of her critiques on ICE and Trump’s immigration policies, positioning the state as a major resister of Trump’s deportation plans.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Jan. 2026
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There’s also no strategic plan or national campaign in place that assures nonviolent resisters that their involvement is part of a grand strategy.—
Michael Shank,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Or an historian of Polynesian culture giving a lecture about tattooing, or the time Captain Bligh stopped on the atoll to look for the mutineer Fletcher Christian.—
Antonia Quirke,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Jan. 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 7 Feb. 2026.
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