mutiny 1 of 2

mutiny

2 of 2

verb

as in to rebel
to rise up against established authority the party's conservative faction mutinied just before the election

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun mutiny differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of mutiny are insurrection, rebellion, revolt, revolution, and uprising. While all these words mean "an outbreak against authority," mutiny applies to group insubordination or insurrection especially against naval authority.

a mutiny led by the ship's cook

When could rebellion be used to replace mutiny?

The synonyms rebellion and mutiny are sometimes interchangeable, but rebellion implies an open formidable resistance that is often unsuccessful.

open rebellion against the officers

How do revolt and insurrection relate to one another, in the sense of mutiny?

Both revolt and insurrection imply an armed uprising that quickly fails or succeeds.

a revolt by the Young Turks that surprised party leaders
an insurrection of oppressed laborers

When is it sensible to use revolution instead of mutiny?

While the synonyms revolution and mutiny are close in meaning, revolution applies to a successful rebellion resulting in a major change (as in government).

a political revolution that toppled the monarchy

When can uprising be used instead of mutiny?

Although the words uprising and mutiny have much in common, uprising implies a brief, limited, and often immediately ineffective rebellion.

quickly put down the uprising

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 mutiny
Noun
Although the crisis was quickly defused and Prigozhin was eliminated two months later, the mutiny dealt a significant blow to the regime. Andrei Yakovlev, Foreign Affairs, 16 May 2025 Congressional Republicans Thursday agreed to move forward with President Trump’s sprawling budget plan a day after a mutiny by right-wing lawmakers threatened to derail it. Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 10 Apr. 2025
Verb
In early November, as the German naval command contemplated initiating a final climactic and likely suicidal attack on the British fleet, German sailors mutinied in the city of Kiel, leading to a wider revolution. Max Bergmann, Foreign Affairs, 18 July 2023 Jackie Calmes: McCarthy flopped, Gaetz mutinied, but blame the chaos on the entire Republican Party. Helen Li, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2023 See All Example Sentences for mutiny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mutiny
Noun
  • The succession of scandals crescendoes to cause internal revolt.
    Max Goldbart, Deadline, 4 July 2025
  • During the English Civil War in 1642, the medieval crown jewels were destroyed as a symbol of revolt against the monarchy.
    Madison Dapcevich, Discover Magazine, 30 June 2025
Verb
  • The passage of the 13th Amendment roughly six months later was the final legislation ensuring the freedom of all enslaved African Americans in the nation: both those in rebelling Confederate states and those belonging to the Union.
    Mackenzie Thomas, The Washington Examiner, 16 June 2025
  • But rank-and-file Democratic lawmakers rebelled and Newsom abandoned the effort.
    George Skelton, Mercury News, 3 June 2025
Noun
  • Those dismissed include two attorneys who worked as supervisors overseeing the Jan. 6 prosecutions in the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington as well as a line attorney who prosecuted cases stemming from the Capitol riot and insurrection, the people said.
    Alanna Durkin Richer, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2025
  • Once the security forces started killing and torturing enough protesters, the demonstrations, which did spiral into insurrections in 2017 and 2019, petered out.
    ERIC EDELMAN, Foreign Affairs, 20 June 2025
Noun
  • In the decades after the Tibetan uprising in 1959, tens of thousands of Tibetans braved frostbite and Himalayan avalanches to live in the proximity of the 14th Dalai Lama.
    Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 2 July 2025
  • The Gulf Arabs financed the counter-revolution against the popular Arab uprisings and worked to counter the influence of a stronger Iran.
    Dina Esfandiary, Time, 1 July 2025
Noun
  • The final season picks up right where season 2 left off, with the deadly games resuming after Seong Gi-hun’s failed rebellion and Hwang Jun-ho continuing his search for the elusive island.
    Regina Kim, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
  • Luckily, the late ’70s and the early ’80s helped reframe that perception, loosening the bounds of traditional beauty standards amid the era of punk rebellion.
    Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 30 June 2025

Cite this Entry

“Mutiny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mutiny. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on mutiny

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