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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in insurgent
a person who rises up against authority
the rebel would not submit peacefully, even after he was captured
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to revolt
to rise up against established authority
the colonists rebelled in the wake of an onslaught of abuses
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rebel
Ned Temko, Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2025
The government in Colombia has struggled to contain violence as rebel groups try to take over territory abandoned by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia following its peace deal with the government.
—Escher Walcott, People.com, 11 June 2025
Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 21 June 2025
The region has experienced years of violence due to conflicts between armed rebel groups and criminal organizations.
—Brittney Melton, NPR, 20 June 2025
Nicolas Niarchos, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
Enzo’s hardly unique in rebelling against his upbringing.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rebel
Adjective
Yet none of this has dampened Mr. Trump’s enthusiasm for bringing U.S. influence to bear in trying to end the rebel incursion – in part because the fighting has affected a region that holds some of Congo’s main rare earth deposits.
—Ned Temko, Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2025
The government in Colombia has struggled to contain violence as rebel groups try to take over territory abandoned by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia following its peace deal with the government.
—Escher Walcott, People.com, 11 June 2025
Noun
The conflict between the countries began in 2022, when Rwandan forces began supporting rebels in the Congo, and has seen the deaths of thousands of people and has displaced many more.
—Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 21 June 2025
The region has experienced years of violence due to conflicts between armed rebel groups and criminal organizations.
—Brittney Melton, NPR, 20 June 2025
Verb
Sudanese in the south began to rebel against the north in the nineteen-fifties.
—Nicolas Niarchos, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
Enzo’s hardly unique in rebelling against his upbringing.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rebel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rebel
Adjective
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Mexican music has always been rock-ish in spirit — sincere, rebellious, a direct message that invites you to rebel against the world.—
Ernesto Lechner,
Los Angeles Times,
24 June 2025
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Strahovski shares details about her character’s state of mind the moment when everything changed with a bold and rebellious move, after finding love again with Commander Wharton (Josh Charles), below.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
22 June 2025
Noun
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Widely viewed as the most powerful of a broad array of insurgent groups active in northern Syria, HTS withstood regular attacks by the Syrian military, ultimately turning the tide last December.—
Tom O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 May 2025
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In recent years, the PKK has been limited to isolated attacks inside Turkey as the Turkish military, backed by armed drones, has pushed its insurgents increasingly across the mountainous border into Iraq.—
Suzan Fraser,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2025
Verb
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The comments come after Deadline revealed that staff used the internal event to openly revolt about Gaza coverage.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
26 June 2025
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The locals nearly revolted against the Hollywood film crew who’d invaded the insular island community to shoot the picture.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
20 June 2025
Adjective
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That’s what makes their fourth studio album, Lucius, almost defiant in its return to form.—
Marissa R. Moss,
Rolling Stone,
11 June 2025
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Asked about his potential exit at the weekend while on international duty for Germany, Ter Stegen was defiant.—
Tom Sanderson,
Forbes.com,
5 June 2025
Noun
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Warren’s identity as a doctor overlapped with his role as a revolutionary, Di Spigna says.—
Eliza McGraw,
Smithsonian Magazine,
17 June 2025
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Many see the president's admiration for the song as an odd choice, given that the lyrics are sung from the point of view of French revolutionaries standing up against a powerful and corrupt ruling class.—
Meredith Kile,
People.com,
12 June 2025
Verb
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In 1913, Swiss Guards mutinied for a week in response but eventually received military training as Repond wanted, Alvarez wrote in The Pope's Soldiers: A Military History of the Modern Vatican.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
7 May 2025
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In June 2023, the group mutinied and marched on Moscow before then leader Yevgeny Prigozhin negotiated a deal with the Kremlin.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
Newsweek,
13 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Rebel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rebel. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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