Synonyms of rebel

rebel 1 of 3

adjective

ˈre-bəl 

as in rebellious

given to resisting authority or another's control

today's rebel chefs feel free to ignore the dictates of classic French cuisine

Synonyms & Similar Words

• rebellious
• defiant
• stubborn
• willful
• disobedient
• contrary
• insubordinate
• dissident
• recalcitrant
• wayward
• naughty
• mischievous
• refractory
• contumacious
• unruly
• restive
• rigid
• insurgent
• dogged
• adamant
• obstreperous
• ungovernable
• intractable
• balky
• wild
• froward
• recusant
• unrelenting
• untoward
• resistant
• mutinous
• bad
• uncontrollable
• incompliant
• rude
• obstinate
• uncooperative
• peevish
• noncooperative
• headstrong
• opinionated
• uncompromising
• implacable
• mulish
• monkeying
• negativistic
• hardheaded
• unbending
• obdurate
• nonconformist
• immovable
• pertinacious
• unmanageable
• unyielding
• fractious
• undisciplined
• disorderly
• inflexible
• adamantine
• errant
• self-willed
• impudent
• pigheaded
• insolent
• disrespectful
• wrongheaded
• perverse
• ornery
• uncouth
• discourteous
• misbehaving
• ungracious
• impertinent
• inconsiderate
• uncivil
• monkeyish
• impolite
• unmannerly
• ill-mannered
• ill-natured
• ill-bred

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• obedient
• cooperative
• submissive
• compliant
• docile
• amenable
• conformable
• acquiescent
• amiable
• tractable
• agreeable
• deferential
• disciplined
• behaved
• yielding
• biddable
• polite
• well-bred
• respectful
• obliging
• servile
• courteous
• slavish
• subservient
• proper
• ruly
• orderly
• obsequious
• decorous
• controllable
• manageable
• mannerly
• trainable
• kowtowing
• governable

rebel

2 of 3

noun

as in insurgent

a person who rises up against authority

the rebel would not submit peacefully, even after he was captured

Synonyms & Similar Words

• insurgent
• revolutionary
• revolter
• insurrectionist
• mutineer
• revolutionist
• anarchist
• red
• insurrectionary
• challenger
• resistant
• resister
• insubordinate
• oppositionist
• discontent
• recusant
• extremist
• defier
• radical
• refuser
• anarch
• malcontent

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• patriot
• loyalist
• supporter
• counterrevolutionary
• counterinsurgent
• counterrevolutionist

rebel

3 of 3

verb

ri-ˈbel 

as in to revolt

to rise up against established authority

the colonists rebelled in the wake of an onslaught of abuses

Synonyms & Similar Words

• revolt
• mutiny
• resist
• fight
• disobey
• kick over the traces
• mock
• oppose
• defy
• revolutionize
• contest
• combat
• withstand
• buck

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• follow
• submit
• comply (with)
• obey
• serve
• attend
• mind

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of rebel

Adjective

Efforts to bring the outbreak under control — from limited public gatherings to social distancing and airport closures — have disrupted life in the six provinces, particularly Ituri, which also has been ravaged by rebel violence. — Constant Same Bagalwa, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026

Trump has increasingly embraced Sharaa, the former commander of al Qaeda’s Nusra Front who broke ties with the global jihadist network in 2016 and led the rebel coalition that overthrew Assad. — Reuters, NBC news, 24 Aug. 2026

Noun

Robert had made a bunch of money in the importing business and was a loyalist to the king; Mary, perhaps without her husband’s knowledge, supported the colonist rebels. — Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 2 Sep. 2026

Nathaniel Bacon and his rebels set fire to Jamestown, the capital of the Virginia colony. — USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026

Verb

Stephens arrives as if the plan remained intact, her head-to-toe leather look rebelling against the searing heat. — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 18 Aug. 2026

Recent developments have made new an old idea that emerged among nineteenth-century intellectuals in tsarist Russia who rebelled against the elite fixation with the West. — Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026

Phrases Containing rebel

• rebel (against)