insubordination
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of insubordination
First recorded in 1785–95; in- 3 ( def. ) + subordinat(e) ( def. ) + -ion ( def. )
Explanation
People in charge — like bosses and teachers — hate insubordination, which means that someone is defying their authority. When a student is disrespectful to a teacher or says something like "I won't do this homework!", that's an act of insubordination. If a teacher didn't do what the principal wanted, that would also be insubordination. This word is often used in relation to the military, where giving and taking orders is extremely important. A soldier who commits insubordination — by disobeying an order — can be in a lot of trouble. Anywhere there's insubordination, someone with less power (a subordinate) is giving someone with more power a whole lot of trouble.
Vocabulary lists containing insubordination
100 SAT Words Beginning with "I"
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Ender's Game
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The Princess Bride
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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.
“That it thought this court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2025
The behind-the-scenes story with CBS involved a truckload of intuition and a bit of insubordination, resulting in one of the great moments in televised sports.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2025
He stands accused of corruption, money-laundering, gross misconduct, insubordination and bullying public officers and six other acts of wrongdoing.
From BBC • Oct. 1, 2024
Truman fired MacArthur for his insubordination, at some political risk.
From Slate • Jul. 18, 2024
This angered Badenhorst and the authorities who regarded this as unacceptable insubordination.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
