RECUSANT Synonyms: 141 Similar and Opposite Words

recusant 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of recusant

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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recusant

2 of 2

noun

as in resister

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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 recusant

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

For seven seasons, a hodgepodge crew mixing Starfleet and the rebellious Maquis put aside their differences after they got zapped 70,000 lightyears away from Earth, deep into the uncharted Delta Quadrant.

— Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 4 July 2026
This could bring about sudden ideas, or trigger rebellious impulses and creative imagination.

— Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026

Definition of rebellious

Noun

In November 1971, Berkeley, California, became the first sanctuary city in the country when 12 local churches inspired the City Council to pass a resolution offering sanctuary to draft resisters.

— Menika Dirkson, The Conversation, 8 Apr. 2026
Clemson resister Dabo Swinney has driven his program into the ground.

— Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026

Definition of resister

Adjective

Under the Obama administration, an international coalition targeting the Libyan regime of Moammar Qadafi during the country’s 2011 civil war struck his fleeing convoy, leading to his capture and killing by rebel fighters.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026
Assad was forced to flee the country after government forces collapsed in the face of a surprise offensive launched by a coalition of rebel groups, led by Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

— David Brennan, ABC News, 7 July 2026

Definition of rebel

Noun

Pitcairn is well-known as the island on which Fletcher Christian and other British mutineers from the HMS Bounty took refuge after the 1789 events that toppled Capt.

— Matthew Lee, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026
Or an historian of Polynesian culture giving a lecture about tattooing, or the time Captain Bligh stopped on the atoll to look for the mutineer Fletcher Christian.

— Antonia Quirke, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Jan. 2026

Definition of mutineer

Adjective

Juano Hernandez, one of the finest of all American actors, plays a proudly defiant Black man falsely accused of murder.

— Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 15 July 2026
Her face displays the trademark unibrow and faint mustache — a gender-bending look that, scholars say, reflects Kahlo’s defiant repudiation of the classic female aesthetic.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026

Definition of defiant

Noun

This same poll showed Hochul, a Democrat, leading her Republican challenger, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, by a margin of 20 percentage points – a promising sign for her reelection campaign.

— Paxton Honerkamp, CNBC, 14 July 2026
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, several would-be Collins' challengers descended upon the scene — and her office — to speak out.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 July 2026

Definition of challenger

Noun

Yesterday, in an effort to galvanize democratic forces, oppositionists announced the foundation of the Strategic Council of Republicans Inside Iran.

— Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 1 Mar. 2026
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

Definition of oppositionist

Noun

But Democratic leaders fear that the insurgent candidates risk blowing winnable races for Democrats with messages considered too radical for most voters.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 July 2026
Across the country, insurgent candidates-—-perhaps most notably Zohran Mamdani in New York City—have found traction by presenting themselves as unapologetic fighters willing to challenge both Republicans and their own party’s leadership.

— Nik Popli, Time, 8 July 2026

Definition of insurgent

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“Recusant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recusant. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of recusant

adjective

noun

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