insubordination

noun

Definition of insubordinationnext
as in rebellion
refusal to obey was fired for chronic insubordination

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 insubordination The Defense Department delivered termination notices last week to Stars and Stripes Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin, publisher Max Lederer and Middle East reporter Lara Korte, accusing them of insubordination. — Joe Walsh, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026 The accident caps a chaotic Giants season marked by social-media flare-ups, on-field insubordination and a Pride Night uniform dispute. — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2026 Quarantine orders are met with wholesale insubordination, and the government begins to ratchet its way to full martial law. — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 25 July 2026 Williamson later ran afoul of the SSPX, which expelled him in 2012 for insubordination. — ABC News, 1 July 2026 Lugo also had filed insubordination charges against him. — Rafael Carranza, ProPublica, 25 June 2026 King fired Saulter from the sheriff’s department in May of this year over accusations of insubordination. — Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 June 2026 Among the grounds listed are fraud, embezzlement, theft, misappropriation of district resources, breach of fiduciary duty, neglect of duties, criminal convictions, violations of law, policy violations, dishonesty, insubordination and failure to perform contractual obligations. — Nora O'Neill, Charlotte Observer, 18 June 2026 Assistant Superintendent Tony Poole is also leaving the district after he was suspended in February for alleged insubordination. — Jessica Seaman, Denver Post, 4 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insubordination
  1. rebellion
  2. defiance
  3. disobedience
  4. rebelliousness
  5. disrespect
Noun
  • During the Sengoku period, clan leader Isshin Ashina leads a successful rebellion against the rulers to secure Ashina’s independence.
    — Aman Kumar, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026
  • According to a recent paper by the French Institute of International Relations, the SAF and its supporters claim to be putting down an armed rebellion as Sudan’s legitimate government.
    — Mat Nashed, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of rebellion
Noun
  • Since then, mayoral defiance of the legal obligations to enforce the council’s budget has left the city financially short of that modest projection.
    — Joe Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
  • That defiance underscores the central gamble of Washington’s strategy.
    — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of defiance
Noun
  • Another child said he was forced to carry out artillery strikes and beaten for disobedience.
    — Sam Mednick, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026
  • But many Catholics, including conservative and traditional ones, are opposed to the consecrations, viewing them as an act of severe disobedience to the pope that hurts the church.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 1 July 2026
Definition of disobedience
Noun
  • Whether writing five decades ago or today, the genre’s most insightful commentators have always observed how punk fuses rebelliousness with commodification, capitalism with resistance.
    — Kyle Devine, Longreads, 14 July 2026
  • Marji’s rebelliousness, both admirable and terrifying for those who love her, is her salient characteristic.
    — Hillary Chute, The Atlantic, 9 June 2026
Definition of rebelliousness
Noun
  • The public weighted plain disrespect – how people are treated, apart from the economics – significantly more heavily than the philosophers did.
    — ESMT Berlin, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • In the millions upon millions of words written and said about this World Cup, who has shown disrespect to players from Haiti, or any other smaller nation?
    — Nick Miller, New York Times, 27 July 2026
Definition of disrespect

Browse Nearby Words

insubordinates
insubordination
insubstantial
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Cite this Entry

“Insubordination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insubordination. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

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