Synonyms of rebels

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• insurgents
• revolutionaries
• revolters
• mutineers
• insurrectionists
• revolutionists
• challengers
• anarchists
• reds
• resisters
• oppositionists
• insurrectionaries
• radicals
• discontents
• extremists
• resistants
• recusants
• refusers
• defiers
• anarchs
• insubordinates
• malcontents

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• loyalists
• patriots
• supporters
• counterrevolutionaries
• counterinsurgents
• counterrevolutionists

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• revolts
• mutinies
• resists
• fights
• kicks over the traces
• mocks
• disobeys
• opposes
• contests
• combats
• defies
• revolutionizes
• withstands
• bucks

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• minds
• follows
• submits
• obeys
• complies (with)
• serves
• attends

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of rebels

Noun

Mohamed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis' political bureau, said Washington reached out to the rebels after their rapid advance down Yemen's western coast to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait earlier this month. — Arkansas Online, 21 Sep. 2026

The State Department issued a caution warning to Americans in the Middle East on Saturday night after Houthi rebels in Yemen launched a ballistic missile at an airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital. — Carter Schroppe, The Washington Examiner, 20 Sep. 2026

Last week, Houthi rebels in Yemen launched a lightning offensive against Yemeni government forces, seizing control of the country’s entire Red Sea coast, including the towns and islands around the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait. — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 20 Sep. 2026

Mohamed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau, said Washington reached out to the rebels after their rapid advance down Yemen’s western coast to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait earlier this month. — Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026

Saudi Arabia also is running low on interceptors and has turned to regional and Western allies for assistance as its standoff with Houthi rebels in Yemen drags on. — Ben Finley, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2026

In the past, the rebels have demanded the payment of public-sector wages in their areas using Yemen’s collective oil revenues, and that Saudi Arabia compensate the rebels for the war. — Kareem Fahim, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026

Saudi diplomats had notified US lawmakers in August of a breakdown in political channels with the Houthis and the rebels’ plans to escalate against the kingdom, and sought Washington’s backing to push back, the source said. — Becky Anderson, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026

The attacks early Tuesday came hours after the rebels blamed Saudi Arabia for an airstrike that hit a prison in Yemen’s northern province of Jawf. — ABC News, 8 Sep. 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