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
Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2026
The rebels were fully aware of these other colonies and sought to include them.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Mali was struck on April 26 by one of the biggest coordinated attacks on its army in Bamako and several other cities by jihadis and rebels who seized several towns and military bases.
—ABC News, 3 May 2026
Diego Calderón Franco, a researcher and birding guide, was once kidnapped and held hostage by Marxist rebels in Colombia.
—Anderson Cooper, CBS News, 3 May 2026
In the late 1800s, Spanish military officials used concentration camps – reconcentrados – during their 1896–97 Cuban campaign to isolate civilians from rebels, resulting in widespread death and disease.
—Alex Braithwaite, The Conversation, 1 May 2026
Gregory Brown, the founder of a Beverly Hills company called GlobalCast Partners, LLC, contacted Epstein and sought his help in freeing those funds for the rebels, who later formed the provisional government after Gaddafi’s fall.
—Miami Herald, 29 Apr. 2026
Russia has been grabbing Mali’s precious minerals, including gold, in return for promising to protect the country against the rebels.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2026
Security is a major concern for mining companies looking to enter DR Congo and has held back the development of extractive industries in Africa’s second-largest nation by land mass, which for years has fought rebels in the east of the country.
—semafor.com, 27 Apr. 2026
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
Noun
Mali was struck late last month by one of the biggest coordinated attacks on its army in Bamako and several other cities by jihadis and rebels who seized several towns and military bases.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2026
The rebels were fully aware of these other colonies and sought to include them.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Mali was struck on April 26 by one of the biggest coordinated attacks on its army in Bamako and several other cities by jihadis and rebels who seized several towns and military bases.
—ABC News, 3 May 2026
Diego Calderón Franco, a researcher and birding guide, was once kidnapped and held hostage by Marxist rebels in Colombia.
—Anderson Cooper, CBS News, 3 May 2026
In the late 1800s, Spanish military officials used concentration camps – reconcentrados – during their 1896–97 Cuban campaign to isolate civilians from rebels, resulting in widespread death and disease.
—Alex Braithwaite, The Conversation, 1 May 2026
Gregory Brown, the founder of a Beverly Hills company called GlobalCast Partners, LLC, contacted Epstein and sought his help in freeing those funds for the rebels, who later formed the provisional government after Gaddafi’s fall.
—Miami Herald, 29 Apr. 2026
Russia has been grabbing Mali’s precious minerals, including gold, in return for promising to protect the country against the rebels.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2026
Security is a major concern for mining companies looking to enter DR Congo and has held back the development of extractive industries in Africa’s second-largest nation by land mass, which for years has fought rebels in the east of the country.
—semafor.com, 27 Apr. 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
-
That song’s twangful snarl — wonderfully sung by Clark, a star recording artist in her own right — is a reminder that these insurgents are also preservationists, capable of delivering old-fashioned pleasures to please the purists.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Since insurgents ousted former President Bashar Assad in December 2024, dozens of members of his security agencies that were blamed for atrocities during the conflict have been arrested.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The second includes former revolutionaries, reformists, communist factions and groups such as the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), many of whom emerged from or once supported the revolutionary system before later opposing it.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
28 Apr. 2026
-
In 1777, he was summoned to Paris to meet with American revolutionaries, including Benjamin Franklin.—
Amanda Rosa
Updated April 28,
Miami Herald,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rebels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rebels. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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