rebellion

[ri-bel-yuhn]

noun

1. open, organized, and armed resistance to one's government or ruler.

   Synonyms: sedition, mutiny

2. resistance to or defiance of any authority, control, or tradition.

   Synonyms: disobedience, insubordination

3. the act of rebelling.

rebellion

/ rɪˈbɛljən /

noun

1. organized resistance or opposition to a government or other authority

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

Other Word Forms

• nonrebellion noun
• prerebellion adjective
• semirebellion noun
• subrebellion noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of rebellion¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English rebellioun, from Old French, from Latin rebelliōn-, stem of rebelliō; equivalent to rebel + -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of rebellion¹

C14: via Old French from Latin rebelliō revolt (of those conquered); see _rebel

Example Sentences

Starmer and Reeves initially tried to plug the fiscal hole with cuts in social programs earlier this year, but an internal rebellion forced them to water down those plans.

Read more on Barron's

Starmer and Reeves initially tried to plug the fiscal hole with cuts in social programs earlier this year, but an internal rebellion forced them to water down those plans.

Read more on Barron's

The Ethiopian army was carrying out searches of homes in the Amhara region on 5 January this year, as part of a crackdown on a growing rebellion launched by local militias known as Fano.

Read more on BBC

In 1696, this rebellion came to full flower when an Arab force sailed into an African harbor at Mombasa and laid siege to the vital Portuguese fort at Fort Jesus.

Read more on Literature

An attempt over the summer to cut some particularly generous welfare benefits collapsed amid a rebellion from Labour backbenchers in Parliament, putting welfare reform off the table.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• dissent 
• insurgency 
• insurrection 
• revolution 
• uprising 

When To Use

What does rebellion mean?

A rebellion is an attempt to overthrow a government—an organized revolution.It can also refer to a revolt against another form of authority. More generally, rebellion can refer to an action or behavior that resists or defies rules or norms or otherwise challenges the status quo.The verb rebel means to engage in rebellion. As a noun, rebel can refer to a revolutionary or to a person who is defiant or disobedient. Such a defiant person can be called rebellious, and the noun rebelliousness refers to such behavior. Rebellion can also refer to this, as in I went through a phase of teenage rebellion.Example: The rebellion is being led by a coalition of factions that all have the same goal—to topple the regime.