as in insurgents
a person who rises up against authority
the rebel would not submit peacefully, even after he was captured
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in revolts
to rise up against established authority
the colonists rebelled in the wake of an onslaught of abuses
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rebels
Helen Regan, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025
The rebels, led by Deepak Rauniyar and Binod Paudel, fired off a scathing letter to the Academy demanding a full investigation and threatening to blow up Nepal’s Oscar dreams entirely.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 27 Sep. 2025
The Twelve Articles then became a document that the movement everywhere acknowledged, even when the rebels did not know exactly what the articles contained, and even though many areas revised them to suit local circumstances.
—Literary Hub, 25 Sep. 2025
On that day, some 500 rebels took over the town to kickstart an island-wide revolution that would take back control from then-governing Spanish rule and establish a new and independent Republic of Puerto Rico.
—Juan J. Arroyo, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2025
Houthi rebels in the Red Sea have restricted vessel traffic to the Suez Canal for months, forcing trade between Asia and Europe to reroute.
—Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 24 Sep. 2025
Jazz is an art form with an outsized share of mavericks, rebels, and creative dissidents who’ve built careers by blazing their own particular paths.
—Andrew Gilbert, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025
By the finale, the galactic chessboard is crowded with players—emperors, rebels, prophets, impostors—but as Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) warned in the very first episode, the center cannot hold.
—Jp Mangalindan, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
African states, too, have started hiring Russian, Turkish, Romanian, and South African private military companies (PMCs) to battle insurgencies, to deploy drones against jihadists, and to reclaim resource-rich areas taken over by rebels.
—Alia Brahimi, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
Noun
The rebels also cited the need to take out the massive scam operations as justification for their offensive – which analysts say China likely greenlit.
—Helen Regan, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025
The rebels, led by Deepak Rauniyar and Binod Paudel, fired off a scathing letter to the Academy demanding a full investigation and threatening to blow up Nepal’s Oscar dreams entirely.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 27 Sep. 2025
The Twelve Articles then became a document that the movement everywhere acknowledged, even when the rebels did not know exactly what the articles contained, and even though many areas revised them to suit local circumstances.
—Literary Hub, 25 Sep. 2025
On that day, some 500 rebels took over the town to kickstart an island-wide revolution that would take back control from then-governing Spanish rule and establish a new and independent Republic of Puerto Rico.
—Juan J. Arroyo, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2025
Houthi rebels in the Red Sea have restricted vessel traffic to the Suez Canal for months, forcing trade between Asia and Europe to reroute.
—Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 24 Sep. 2025
Jazz is an art form with an outsized share of mavericks, rebels, and creative dissidents who’ve built careers by blazing their own particular paths.
—Andrew Gilbert, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025
By the finale, the galactic chessboard is crowded with players—emperors, rebels, prophets, impostors—but as Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) warned in the very first episode, the center cannot hold.
—Jp Mangalindan, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
African states, too, have started hiring Russian, Turkish, Romanian, and South African private military companies (PMCs) to battle insurgencies, to deploy drones against jihadists, and to reclaim resource-rich areas taken over by rebels.
—Alia Brahimi, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rebels
Noun
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Labels matter Security analysts say the situation in Haiti continues to defy clear international legal characterization and the choice of labels – crisis, armed conflict, gangs, terrorist groups, armed groups, criminal groups, insurgents – carries significant legal and humanitarian implications.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
26 Sep. 2025
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This might enable a mission which, for example, a Viper is located covertly next to a safe house known to be used by insurgents.—
David Hambling,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Yet through Bob, Anderson finds his way into this story in a way that feels self-reflective and in conversation with a whole generation of coulda been revolutionaries.—
Richard Newby,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Sep. 2025
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Creating the technology for revolutionaries operating in an amorphous present, such as the scanner device, was another fascinating challenge.—
Pat Saperstein,
Variety,
27 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rebels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rebels. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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