as in rebellion
refusal to obey
was fired for chronic insubordination
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Recent Examples of insubordination
The experience haunts Ortegas through the season, affecting her morale and pushing her even into outright insubordination.
—
Adam B. Vary, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025
So no one gets married, but Brian does get a bunch of lashes for his insubordination.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Roger Alford, who was fired in July for alleged insubordination, claims that political appointees under Bondi's direction overruled career staff and settled a major tech merger—Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks—in a manner that undermined the rule of law.
—Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025
Bondi fired him for insubordination.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025
The deputy warden at the time stated the two actions were negligence of duty and insubordination.
—Maritza Dominguez, AZCentral.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Two top officials in the agency’s antitrust division — Roger Alford, principal deputy assistant attorney general, and Bill Rinner, deputy assistant attorney general and head of merger enforcement — were recently fired for insubordination.
—Julia Shapero, The Hill, 1 Aug. 2025
Adam B. Vary, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025
So no one gets married, but Brian does get a bunch of lashes for his insubordination.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Roger Alford, who was fired in July for alleged insubordination, claims that political appointees under Bondi's direction overruled career staff and settled a major tech merger—Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks—in a manner that undermined the rule of law.
—Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025
Bondi fired him for insubordination.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025
The deputy warden at the time stated the two actions were negligence of duty and insubordination.
—Maritza Dominguez, AZCentral.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Two top officials in the agency’s antitrust division — Roger Alford, principal deputy assistant attorney general, and Bill Rinner, deputy assistant attorney general and head of merger enforcement — were recently fired for insubordination.
—Julia Shapero, The Hill, 1 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insubordination
Noun
-
As Pietro becomes more impatient with Gatti, hearing about Felice’s losing streak in his nightly phone calls home, Felice is prompted into his first, necessary act of rebellion against his father’s loving but stifling authority.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Although the political protests in Los Angeles included some violence, the judge reasoned that the violence did not rise to a rebellion and did not prevent a traditional police response.—
Luke William Hunt,
The Conversation,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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His defiance has earned him a bump in public support, with recent polls showing more Brazilians blame Bolsonaro's camp for the tariffs than the sitting government.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 war and began establishing Jewish settlements there soon after in defiance of international law.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
1 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This element of female rebelliousness is very important to me.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2019
Noun
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Many individuals remain out of necessity, not due to willful disobedience , but because of sudden changes in personal or political circumstances—including armed conflict, economic collapse, or family emergencies.—
Andy J. Semotiuk,
Forbes.com,
5 Aug. 2025
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Thanks to that act of disobedience, the document is now preserved at Fort Ligonier.—
Aurora Martínez,
Smithsonian Magazine,
18 July 2025
Noun
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While this change reduces the explicit admission of willfulness, a narrative is still required.—
Virginia La Torre Jeker,
Forbes.com,
4 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Fresh out of a $24 million civil lawsuit, Cardi B isn't taking disrespect from anyone.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
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Tulane Green Wave head coach Jon Sumrall will not tolerate any disrespect for the city of New Orleans.—
Andrew Hughes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Insubordination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insubordination. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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