mutineer
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of mutineer
1600–10; < Middle French mutinier, equivalent to mutin mutiny, mutinous ( meut ( e ) mutiny < Vulgar Latin *movita, feminine of *movitus, variant of Latin mōtus, past participle of movēre to move + -in -ine 1 ) + -ier -ier 2; see -eer
Explanation
A mutineer is someone who rebels against authority. If a group of kids refuses to go back inside the school when recess is over, you can call them mutineers. Mutiny is the act of revolt or opposition against an authority like the captain of a ship or the commander of an army. Anyone who acts to carry out a mutiny is a mutineer. Both words stem from the old verb mutine, "revolt," and its root word meaning "to push away." Formally, a mutineer is someone who's guilty of a crime, but you can use it informally for any type of rebel.
Vocabulary lists containing mutineer
White Rose
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The Most Beautiful Roof in the World
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Cat's Cradle
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Last month, as part of the run-up to Letterman’s final show, Late Show had Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires pay tribute to Zevon with a cover of his track Mutineer.
From The Guardian • May 20, 2015
Bounty until he and 18 crewmen were left tossing in a dinghy by Mutineer Fletcher Christian in 1789.
From Time Magazine Archive
To Errol this young Polynesian was introduced as Fletcher Christian of Pitcairn Island, a direct descendant of Mutineer Christian, and Flynn's blood cousin.
From Time Magazine Archive
It's Mutineer has the devil in him always, sir.
From The Honorable Peter Stirling and What People Thought of Him by Ford, Paul Leicester
Mutineer, mū-ti-nēr′, n. one guilty of mutiny.—v.i. to mutiny.—n. and v.i.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
