noun
verb
Other Word Forms
- premutiny noun
Etymology
Origin of mutiny
1560–70; obsolete mutine to mutiny (< Middle French mutiner, derivative of mutin mutiny; mutineer ) + -y 3
Explanation
A mutiny is a rebellion against authority, like when sailors overthrow the captain of a ship or when a class of 8th graders refuses to dissect a frog in biology class. Mutiny comes from an old verb, mutine, which means "revolt," and a mutiny is still like a revolt. It can be a group of people, like in the famous Mutiny on the Bounty in 1789 when the crew of a British Royal Navy ship kicked the captain out so they could stay in Tahiti. (Totally worth it.) Mutiny also means "to refuse the order of the person in authority," so it doesn't always take place at sea or in the military, it can happen in a classroom and be every teacher's nightmare!
Vocabulary lists containing mutiny
The Cay
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Christopher Columbus' Diary: The First Voyage
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "M"
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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.
Before Putin confidant Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner Group turned against Mr. Putin in their infamous mutiny of June 2023, Prigozhin took to Telegram to denounce Russia’s generals.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
Alekseyev, who had longtime links with Wagner, was detained after the mutiny and later released.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
Nigeria led the regional mission with the deployment of jets and troops to suppress the mutiny in Benin.
From BBC • Dec. 9, 2025
A previous investigation into the mutiny blamed years of pent-up anger among soldiers, who felt their appeals for pay rises and better treatment were ignored.
From Barron's • Nov. 30, 2025
Snape seemed to be facing a constant, low level of mutiny from a hard core of students.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
