as in rebelliousness
failure or refusal to do what someone has told or asked you to do; lack of cooperation
They adopted a strategy of noncooperation until they were treated fairly.
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Recent Examples of noncooperation
Nevertheless, some common, noncooperation policies have existed in a handful of places, including Charlotte, where the police don't help with immigration enforcement.
—
CBS News, 18 Nov. 2025
Some might argue that for middle America conditions are not yet painful enough, socially or economically, to inspire sustained noncooperation.
—Michael Shank, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Any entity receiving city funding, such as contractors, would have to follow the city’s warrant and noncooperation standards.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2025
Attempted strikes, boycotts, and other forms of mass noncooperation were weak, localized, and lacked support.
—Erica Chenoweth, Foreign Affairs, 16 June 2014
See All Example Sentences for noncooperation
CBS News, 18 Nov. 2025
Some might argue that for middle America conditions are not yet painful enough, socially or economically, to inspire sustained noncooperation.
—Michael Shank, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Any entity receiving city funding, such as contractors, would have to follow the city’s warrant and noncooperation standards.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2025
Attempted strikes, boycotts, and other forms of mass noncooperation were weak, localized, and lacked support.
—Erica Chenoweth, Foreign Affairs, 16 June 2014
See All Example Sentences for noncooperation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for noncooperation
Noun
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The pseudo-goth hair and costume choices speak to an inner rebelliousness that isn’t so much unleashed as forced loose by a system that values the appearance of a mythical impartiality over her humanity, leaving her with little recourse but to step outside the confines of the law.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
23 Feb. 2026
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The natural obstinacy and rebelliousness of Israa’s teenage years are hyperaccelerated by culture clashes with both her family and the other kids around her.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
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View gallery - 5 images There's a rebellion underway against the always-on, infinitely-scrollable nature of the smartphone.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
10 June 2026
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Within weeks, the new hypernationalist government mounted an effort to suppress the Russian language in the Donbas, provoking a rebellion among ethnically Russian Ukrainians.—
Wyatt Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
9 June 2026
Noun
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For this poet, the first place of childhood and language is his village in the South, a place that has continued to exist in defiance of some of the most brutal forces of occupation, aggression, and now unabashed annihilation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
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In a 230-191 vote, the House approved the bill in defiance of House GOP leadership.—
Lauren Green,
The Washington Examiner,
9 June 2026
Noun
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Those leaders who ignore or flout the law aren’t merely unethical but fatally arrogant, putting their childish willfulness over the wisdom of generations.—
David Brooks,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
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Though the Durutti Column had been a disaster, Wilson was fascinated by the guitarist, who admired punk’s willfulness even though his own musical taste tended toward jazz, blues, and the classical tradition.—
Brad Shoup,
Pitchfork,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The idea is a partial and symbolic sharing, and the purpose is to break the link between hard work and disrespect.—
Wyatt Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
2 June 2026
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Historical novelists are often charged with disrespect and unseriousness, of ransacking the archives for sensational scenery to hang behind their conventional family sagas and love stories.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Noun
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At some point, the preference for consistency and the resolve to make decisions built on past success starts to mirror stubbornness.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
3 June 2026
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Like Sunshine Sean, Bedsy offers a high floor, good-to-brilliant regular seasons, and inevitable playoff heartbreak brought on by a combination of stubbornness and the inability to adapt on the fly.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
3 June 2026
Noun
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The Catholic Church teaches that all other people are conceived with original sin as a result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God in the Garden of Eden.—
Bridget Retzloff,
The Conversation,
2 June 2026
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There is zero tolerance for political disobedience.—
Daniel Drake,
The New York Review of Books,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Noncooperation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/noncooperation. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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