rebellious
Americanadjective
-
defying or resisting some established authority, government, or tradition; insubordinate; inclined to rebel.
- Synonyms:
- contumacious, disobedient, refractory, rebel, seditious, mutinous, insurgent, defiant
-
pertaining to or characteristic of rebels or rebellion.
-
(of things) resisting treatment; refractory.
adjective
-
showing a tendency towards rebellion
-
(of a problem, etc) difficult to overcome; refractory
Usage
What does rebellious mean? Rebellious is an adjective that describes someone who resists or defies rules.Someone who acts in such a way can be called a rebel. However, the word rebel can also be used to refer to a revolutionary trying to overthrow a government. Such actions can be described as rebellious, but rebellious is much more commonly used to describe people or actions that break the rules, resist authority, or otherwise challenge the status quo. It’s especially applied to teenagers who act this way.The noun rebelliousness refers to such behavior. The noun rebellion can refer to this, but it’s also used to refer to an attempt to overthrow a government (rebelliousness isn’t typically used this way.)Example: Danielle was labeled rebellious for refusing to wear her uniform to school.
Other Word Forms
- half-rebellious adjective
- half-rebelliously adverb
- half-rebelliousness noun
- nonrebellious adjective
- nonrebelliously adverb
- nonrebelliousness noun
- quasi-rebellious adjective
- quasi-rebelliously adverb
- rebelliously adverb
- rebelliousness noun
- semirebellious adjective
- semirebelliously adverb
- semirebelliousness noun
- unrebellious adjective
- unrebelliously adverb
- unrebelliousness noun
Etymology
Origin of rebellious
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin rebelliōsus, from Latin rebelli(ō) “war renewal, revolt” ( rebellion ) + -ōsus -ous
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.
"Maverick, independent, to a certain extent rebellious - it was all good stuff," he said.
From BBC
But some small rebellious part of her brain was thinking, I didn’t use the word crash.
From Literature
“It felt riskier, kind of rebellious to do that, but it ended up looking great and feeling really good too for her,” said Tolles about leaning into the room’s darkness.
From Los Angeles Times
Fashion historian Dr Helen Walter says Westwood's "punk" approach to tartan transformed it from being something associated with staid British cultural norms and gave it a rebellious streak.
From BBC
I can tell she feels pity for me and blames herself for not having been a better mother and stopped me from being so rebellious.
From Literature
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.
