rebel
noun
a person who refuses allegiance to, resists, or rises in arms against the government or ruler of their country.
were rebelling
-
past progressiveof rebel.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
"Students were rebelling, but with hope and celebration, not anger. The film was about people finding joy in being themselves and saying we don't want to conform," says Krishen in the same interview.
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026
Some employees were rebelling openly against their new owner, who had criticized the social media service and its executives.
From New York Times ● May 25, 2022
“You didn’t have to go to the office tomorrow, so you were rebelling against the world with another episode of ‘Ozark.’
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 15, 2021
Newark was one of more than 150 cities across the country who were rebelling against widespread disenfranchisement and police brutality.
From Slate ● Jun. 3, 2020
Young people were rebelling against a society they thought was violent, corrupt, and immoral.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
