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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rebel
John Calabrese, The Conversation, 7 Mar. 2026
Colombia’s government has struggled to contain drug traffickers and rebel groups that are now fighting over territory abandoned by the nation’s largest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, following its 2016 peace deal with the government.
—ABC News, 3 Mar. 2026
Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 30 Mar. 2026
House rebels view the attempt to squeeze the SAVE America Act into reconciliation, a restrictive budget process that requires all language to have a direct fiscal impact, as capitulation and want to see the entire bill, including its mandates on voter ID and proof of citizenship, signed into law.
—David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 28 Mar. 2026
ABC News, 4 Mar. 2026
Her father, who as a teenager in Tallinn began to rebel against Sovietization, insisted on teaching Stasevska and her two younger brothers to speak Ukrainian at home.
—Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rebel
Adjective
This is, of course, exactly the logic that drove the CIA’s support for the Mujahideen Mujahedeen in Afghanistan and the arming of Syrian rebel factions – both of which produced consequences their architects failed to foresee.
—John Calabrese, The Conversation, 7 Mar. 2026
Colombia’s government has struggled to contain drug traffickers and rebel groups that are now fighting over territory abandoned by the nation’s largest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, following its 2016 peace deal with the government.
—ABC News, 3 Mar. 2026
Noun
The rebels could close the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a chokepoint linking the Red Sea to global shipping lines.
—Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 30 Mar. 2026
House rebels view the attempt to squeeze the SAVE America Act into reconciliation, a restrictive budget process that requires all language to have a direct fiscal impact, as capitulation and want to see the entire bill, including its mandates on voter ID and proof of citizenship, signed into law.
—David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 28 Mar. 2026
Verb
During the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Kurds were marginalized and repressed and sometimes rebelled.
—ABC News, 4 Mar. 2026
Her father, who as a teenager in Tallinn began to rebel against Sovietization, insisted on teaching Stasevska and her two younger brothers to speak Ukrainian at home.
—Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rebel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rebel
Adjective
-
On June 15, 1215, rebellious nobles compelled King John of England to sign the Magna Carta.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The 8-episode first season charts the improbable ascent of Joe and Rose Kennedy and their nine children, including rebellious second son Jack, who struggles to escape the shadow of his golden boy older brother.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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This long list of accomplishments doesn’t even mention her work with the Raconteurs, her co-writes with Guy fuckin’ Clark, or that one of her records (2013’s Like a Rose) is a stone-cold classic of 2010s insurgent country.—
Stephen M. Deusner,
Pitchfork,
7 Apr. 2026
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While serving a tour of duty outside the province of Kandahar in Afghanistan in August of 2011, he was ambushed by Taliban insurgents disguised in Afghan National Army uniforms.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Thune and Johnson's joint statement came after the House GOP revolted on Friday and killed the Senate plan.—
Justin Papp,
CNBC,
1 Apr. 2026
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In 2004 when Yankee Stadium briefly replaced Cracker Jack with Crunch ‘n Munch, another caramel corn treat with peanuts, fans revolted and the team brought back Cracker Jack.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In mid-19th century Iran, painter Nowruz falls for a fearlessly defiant Roma fortune teller, sparking their desperate flight and a tragic saga echoing down generations, the synopsis runs.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Near the close of the No Kings rally in Lincolnwood on Saturday afternoon, the chants rang out from beneath the waving American flag with a defiant twist.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Thanks to a new English book from Boston playwright Kirsten Greenidge, the action is transported from France to 1776-era Boston where Massachusetts revolutionary and patriot Deborah Sampson has disguised herself as a man to fight for independence.—
Jed Gottlieb,
Boston Herald,
5 Apr. 2026
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These works follow aging revolutionaries who have given up the fight after being forced into hiding or choosing to raise a family; some have simply grown tired of the struggle.—
Boris Kachka,
The Atlantic,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Treated by many Americans as a traitor who had mutinied, Mr. Thompson was threatened with prosecution by lawmakers before being recognized decades later as a hero.—
Anna Mulrine Grobe,
Christian Science Monitor,
6 Dec. 2025
-
The 16th-century adventurer, who first circumnavigated the globe by sea in 1522, wavers beneath the pressure of his pursuit, ultimately leading his men to mutiny and madness on the Malay Archipelago.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
18 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rebel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rebel. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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