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

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 Government forces have reclaimed territory from the Houthis in the provinces of Hodeida and Taiz, and attacked the rebels in the northern province of Jawf as well as the central provinces of Marib and Bayda. — Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 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 Luckily, the rebels clamp the safeguard pipe in the knick of time. — Kelly Allen, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2026 And look towards the horizon, forget countries and watch out for rebels… or learn about all that in the trailer. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026 Robert had made a bunch of money in the importing business and was a loyalist to the king; Mary, perhaps without her husband’s knowledge, supported the colonist rebels. — Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 2 Sep. 2026 Nathaniel Bacon and his rebels set fire to Jamestown, the capital of the Virginia colony. — USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026 Smokejumpers kicked cargo destined for mountain villages in Vietnam, Hmong rebels in Laos, and Muslim dissidents in China. — M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 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

Hundreds joined the insurgents that day, and their numbers soon swelled into the thousands.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Sep. 2026
Many of the 9/11 hijackers, for instance, initially went to Afghanistan with the intention to acquire skills and connections before traveling onward to Chechnya to fight alongside Chechen insurgents against Russian security forces.

— Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of insurgents

Noun

The new Congress, established on the revolutionaries’ battle cry of no taxation without representation, also needed to pay the bills.

— Lisa Mascaro, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
The new Congress, established on the revolutionaries' battle cry of no taxation without representation, also needed to pay the bills.

— ABC News, ABC News, 9 Sep. 2026