as in rebellious
given to resisting authority or another's control
several recusant senators refused to vote as commanded by the party leadership
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in resister
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Recent Examples of recusant
Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, 15 July 2019
Noun
The uniform of the conformist — sports shirt, cardigan, tennis shoes — is as easily recognized as that of the recusant — dirty white T, sideburns, two days’ growth of beard.
—Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, 15 July 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for recusant
Adjective
-
This news might come to many fans' surprise—but the sassy, whip-smart, and rebellious feminist Eloise Bridgerton does not stay single.—
Christina Perrier,
InStyle,
31 Jan. 2026
-
With the sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Pluto all in Aquarius, the collective mood is future-focused, innovative, and a little rebellious.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Sherrill focused many of her critiques on ICE and Trump’s immigration policies, positioning the state as a major resister of Trump’s deportation plans.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Jan. 2026
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There’s also no strategic plan or national campaign in place that assures nonviolent resisters that their involvement is part of a grand strategy.—
Michael Shank,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In December 2002, the MPCI joined forces with two other rebel factions to form the New Forces of Ivory Coast (FNCI).—
Jay Harris,
New York Times,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Two men are targeted by the rebel army who overthrew the government of Colonel Jacobo Arbenz Guzman.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
3 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
When summoned before a congressional committee in December, Noem struck a defiant tone.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Between the river’s source, entrusted to an order of Orthodox nuns, and its southern delta, where caviar bound for the Kremlin is harvested, the author journeys through a defiant country transformed by war, sanctions, and reinvigorated patriotism.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Language purists like to remind anyone who will listen that decimation actually means the slaughter of one in ten people, and was the military punishment wielded by the Roman army against deserters and mutineers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Oct. 2025
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Few among the bureaucratic, business, and even military elites denounced the mutineers, exposing limited support for Putin.—
ANDREI YAKOVLEV,
Foreign Affairs,
16 May 2025
Noun
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Another challenger, OneWeb, is operated by France's Eutelsat and has a constellation of more than 600 satellites.—
Annie Palmer,
CNBC,
31 Jan. 2026
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Starbucks has other challengers, like the fast-growing drive-thru chains 7 Brew, Scooter’s Coffee and Dutch Bros.—
Dee-Ann Durbin,
Fortune,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Deporting supposed gang members and Hamas supporters without due process may violate any number of statutes, but forcing oppositionists to defend these people’s rights allows the administration to paint them as defending their ideas.—
Garry Kasparov,
The Atlantic,
17 Apr. 2025
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Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is a Sunni Islamist umbrella group of oppositionist forces with ideological and organizational roots in al-Qaeda.—
Joseph Epstein,
Newsweek,
10 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Israel — home to more Holocaust survivors than any other country — marks its remembrance day, Yom HaShoah, on the anniversary of the April 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, emphasizing the heroism of the Jewish insurgents who resisted the Nazi terror.—
Vanessa Gera,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
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According to two senior government officials, the Canadian armed forces were drafting insurgent-like tactics mirroring those used by the Taliban to fight back against the US invasion of Afghanistan.—
Joe Wilkins Published Jan 21,
Futurism,
21 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Recusant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recusant. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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