rebel

[reb-uhl, ri-bel]

noun

1. a person who refuses allegiance to, resists, or rises in arms against the government or ruler of their country.

   Synonyms: insurgent, traitor, mutineer, insurrectionist

2. a person who resists any authority, control, or tradition.

adjective

1. rebellious; defiant.

   Synonyms: mutinous, insurgent

2. of or relating to rebels.

verb (used without object)

rebel, rebelled, rebelling. 

1. to reject, resist, or rise in arms against one's government or ruler.

   Synonyms: mutiny, revolt

2. to resist or rise against some authority, control, or tradition.

3. to show or feel utter repugnance.

   His very soul rebelled at spanking the child.

rebel

verb

1. to resist or rise up against a government or other authority, esp by force of arms

2. to dissent from an accepted moral code or convention of behaviour, dress, etc

3. to show repugnance (towards)

noun

1. 1. a person who rebels

   2. ( as modifier )

      a rebel soldier

      a rebel leader

2. a person who dissents from some accepted moral code or convention of behaviour, dress, etc

Other Word Forms

• rebeldom noun
• rebellike adjective
• nonrebel noun
• prorebel adjective
• semirebel noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of rebel¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English adjective rebel(e), from Old French rebelle, from Latin rebellis “renewing a war,” equivalent to re- re- + bell(um) “war” + -is adjective suffix; Middle English verb rebelle(n), from Old French rebeller and Latin rebellāre; noun derivative of the adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rebel¹

C13: from Old French rebelle , from Latin rebellis insurgent, from _re- + bellum war

Example Sentences

A landslide has killed at least 1,000 people in the remote Marra Mountains in western Sudan, according to the rebel group The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army.

From BBC

Kigali has been accused of backing the M23 rebel group embroiled in the conflict in neighbouring DR Congo - an accusation it has denied.

From BBC

Headlines on its front page include: "Cooked meats bring out Soviet voters in droves" - alongside a photo of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev - and "US rejects Iraqi warplanes plea as rebels close in".

From BBC

But by the time he returned home, a group of conservative religious students turned rebel fighters were dominating Afghanistan’s messy, multisided civil war and had consolidated power over the capital.

From Salon

Colombia has experienced a rise in violence in recent months involving clashes between security forces and dissident rebels, paramilitaries or drug gangs.

From BBC

Related Words

• defy 
• overthrow 
• renounce 
• resist 
• revolt 
• secede 
• take up arms 

When To Use

What does rebel mean?

A rebel is a person who resists or defies rules or norms or rises up against the powers that be.In its more serious sense, a rebel is a revolutionary trying to overthrow a government. More generally, it means someone who breaks the rules, resists authority, or otherwise challenges the status quo by doing things in a nontraditional way, such as in fashion and other arts. As a noun, rebel is pronounced "REB-uhl."Rebel is also a verb meaning to resist or rise up against authority or tradition. As a verb, rebel is pronounced "ri-BELL."Example: Danielle refused to wear her uniform to school, fighting with the principle and urging the other girls to rebel against the policy as she did.