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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Oil prices are rising after the United States conducted an 11th consecutive night of strikes on Iranian military targets and Houthi rebels in Yemen threatened to disrupt a crucial escape hatch for Saudi Arabia’s oil exports. — Arpita Dasika, CNN Money, 22 July 2026 Strait of Hormuz remains key A new pressure point could emerge for world energy markets as Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced on Monday a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia. — Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026 In one of the videos, the rebels were seen opening fire on some soldiers lying on the ground. — ABC News, 18 July 2026 Many rebels believed the burden of repaying the public debt fell disproportionately on common people while benefiting elites. — Donovan Fifield, The Conversation, 16 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

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

One of the insurgents, a doctoral student in sociology named Darializa Avila Chevalier, is far more emblematic of the DSA’s radicalism.

— James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026
So far though, the prediction market insurgents have not meaningfully cut into sportsbook profits.

— Bobby Allyn, NPR, 17 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