REBELS Synonyms: 49 Similar and Opposite Words

rebels 1 of 2

noun

plural of rebel

as in insurgents

a person who rises up against authority the rebel would not submit peacefully, even after he was captured

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rebels

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of rebel

as in revolts

to rise up against established authority the colonists rebelled in the wake of an onslaught of abuses

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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 rebels

Noun

Part of the outbreak is unfolding in a major city and humanitarian hub, Goma, that rebels backed by neighboring Rwanda seized over a year ago, further complicating the response. — ABC News, 13 July 2026 In Syria, Qatar was a main political sponsor of the opposition to then-President Bashar Assad and led calls to increase the flow of weapons to the Syrian rebels. — Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2026 That was the year the United States went to war with Spain in Cuba alongside Cuban and Puerto Rican rebels and in the Philippines. — Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026 He was convicted in 2009 of human rights abuses in the fight against the rebels and, later on, corruption charges. — Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026 History fans should look out for the climb up to the Château de Montségur, once a stronghold of the Cathar religious rebels, and scene of a bloody siege in 1244. — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 1 July 2026 And the old person who rebels is ridiculous. — Merve Emre, New Yorker, 28 June 2026 There was relative peace for 11 years, until a second civil war erupted in 1983, when leaders in Khartoum imposed sharia (Islamic) law and accelerated repression of the southern Christian rebels, which ultimately allowed a ruthless military officer, Omar al-Bashir, to come to power in 1989. — Janine Di Giovanni, Vanity Fair, 25 June 2026 Finding an off-ramp is increasingly becoming necessary for GOP leadership as House rebels threaten to shut down the floor in the absence of a path forward. — David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 25 June 2026

Verb

Masahiro Motoki — the Oscar-winning star of Departures — plays a lord who rebels against warlord Oda Nobunaga and barricades himself inside Arioka Castle, only to face a string of unsolved murders within its walls. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 18 Mar. 2026 Set against the backdrop of the 1998 São Paulo World Cup between Brazil and France, Amarela follows 14-year-old Erika Oguihara (Melissa Uehara), a Japanese Brazilian sports fanatic who rebels against her family’s more Japanese cultural traditions. — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 10 Jan. 2026 As the professor navigates retirement, the baby grows into a rambunctious child who rebels against the traditions of her fishing community. — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rebels

Noun

According to Chaudhry, insurgents have carried out three major attacks across the province since Monday.

— Munir Ahmed, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
The establishment’s theory of the case has always been that popular insurgents are too risky, too unpolished, too outside the lane.

— Tad Devine, Fortune, 7 July 2026

Definition of insurgents

Noun

The monarchy was overthrown in the February Revolution of 1917, and the tsar and his family became prisoners of the revolutionaries.

— Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 July 2026
The original Jacobins were the most radical faction of the French revolutionaries.

— David Brooks, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026