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rebellion

rebellion

60 4.2
When people refuse to obey authority or rules
  • noun
  • /rɪˈbɛljən/
translation icon : rebeldía
  • These kids call themselves hippies and represent a new form of rebellion against the status quo -
  • an act of rebellion
  • youthful rebellion
  • adolescent rebellion

So part of her rebellion is in me.

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Examples

  • So that was his, I think, rebellion against his parents.

  • Despite this minor act of rebellion, the speech was distributed nationally by the campaign.

    Academic text (2013)
  • So as a sign of rebellion you got a tattoo of the most conventional thing you could think of.

  • But in the purest act of rebellion, you can still try.

  • ...rebellion against his domineering father.

  • She'd taken few chances except for a minor teenage rebellion or two.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • And the war in Ukraine keeps going now while the seeds of discontent and rebellion have been sown.

  • It is a rebellion against our mores and our morals.

  • The youth organization was seen as a sign of rebellion against traditional norms.

  • His acts of rebellion included organizing protests against the school rules.

Synonyms

resistance
vsrebellion
412 5.5

Armed action by a group against an enemy or occupying force

is often nonmilitary open refusal against authority, customs, or rules
uprising
vsrebellion
150 5.1

A group of people who rise up and use force to oppose the government

is a wider term covering any open refusal, not only organized violence
defiance
vsrebellion
76 5.3

Open refusal to obey people in charge or rules

is a broader act of refusing authority, possibly organized or private
revolt
vsrebellion
73 4.6

A violent attempt to remove a government or ruler

is more general and can include single acts of refusing authority
disobedience
vsrebellion
55 4.2

Refusing to obey rules or people in charge

is more active public resistance rather than simple noncompliance
insurgency
vsrebellion
  • Literature
54 8.4

A planned action by a group, often using weapons or secret actions, to take control from the government

is the general idea of open refusal, not limited to long military campaigns
insurrection
vsrebellion
27 9.1

A planned violent attempt by a group to remove their government

is broader, covering many forms of open refusal beyond overthrow attempts
insurgence
vsrebellion
  • Literature
1 8.7

An organized group fighting against the government, often using weapons

is broader and also covers individual or nonviolent acts of refusal

Antonyms

91 2.6

Willing to do what a person in charge asks

57 4.2

Accepting another person's control by obeying them

Compounds

A large uprising by Indian soldiers and other people against British rule in 1857 and 1858

How Defiant

rebellion
60 4.2
defiance
76 5.3
protest
578 2.5

Surface Forms

rebellion singular
rebellions plural

Morphology

rebellion = rebel (transparent) = rebel + ion

Standard nominalization of the verb 'rebel' with '-ion', yielding the noun for the act or instance of resisting authority.

Etymology

The word rebellion comes from Latin parts re- ('again') and bellum ('war') and is the noun form of rebel, a person who fights or refuses to obey, so it can also mean a clear act of refusing authority or breaking a tradition.