insubordination

noun

1. the quality or condition of being insubordinate, or of being disobedient to authority; defiance.

   The employee was fired for insubordination.

Word History and Origins

Origin of insubordination¹

First recorded in 1785–95; in- ³ ( def. ) + subordinat(e) ( def. ) + -ion ( def. )

Example Sentences

One agent was disciplined for insubordination after refusing to go along with the plan to embarrass Comey in this way.

Read more on Salon

They said their foster father had beaten them up with a belt for insubordination.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The agent was suspended for insubordination, according to the BBC's news partner CBS, after the agent found the plan to be inappropriate.

Read more on BBC

“That it thought this court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The Detention Watch Network has compiled reports detailing alleged abuses at different detention facilities, like the use of tear gas as punishment for perceived “insubordination,” and the myriad health problems that plague detention centers.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• dereliction 
• infringement