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Glite Dictionary
to go rogue

to go rogue

19 7.5
To act alone and ignore rules or orders
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : actuar por su cuenta
  • When the team leader hesitated, Jamie chose to go rogue and implement her own plan to solve the problem.
  • accusing them of going rogue
  • go rogue and pick
  • said to go rogue

Like we were playing Overwatch, Jake was going rogue a little bit and we were playing CS.

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Examples

  • Ars Technica published a very interesting article that demonstrates how the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals went rogue on patents.

    Blog text (12)

  • I'm warning you, this is the last time you go rogue against my instruction.

    Hellcat's Revenge II: Deadman's Hand (2019)

  • But then he went rogue.

    Hypnotic (2023)

  • The reasons for going rogue were unique to the individual.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Look, I know how this is gonna sound, but Agent Taylor has gone rogue.

    Vantage Point (2008)

  • It seems our dear doctor has gone rogue.

    Boss Level (2021)

  • The wonder isn't that some of its agents go rogue; it's that more of them don't.

    Blog text (28)

  • What happens next leads the captain and his crew to go rogue and take refuge on an exotic island, where they set up a base and declare a no-fly zone.

    Blog text (28)

  • SVU, of course, ends up going rogue, defying orders, and pursuing the sex traffickers anyway.

    Blog text (20)

  • He said these are rogue Ukrainian operations, that the Ukrainians have gone rogue and we can't control them.

Synonyms

to rebel
vsto go rogue
48 4.1

To act against the government or people in power

chooses unexpected independent behavior rather than only opposing authority
to run wild
vsto go rogue
33 3.9

Act without control or limits

often includes deliberate rule breaking and unexpected choices not only lack of control
to run amok
vsto go rogue
20 7.5

To act wildly and cause chaos

reflects conscious rule defiance and unexpected independent choices rather than frenzy
to go one's own way
vsto go rogue
5 6.2

Choose your own path in life

involves unexpected rule breaking and open disregard for authority
to go off the reservation
vsto go rogue
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To act on your own against what the group expects

disregards rules or authority and surprises others with unexpected choices
to act erratically
vsto go rogue
1 6.3

Behave in a way you cannot predict, often changing suddenly

shows deliberate independent choice and rule breaking, not mere randomness

Antonyms

to obey
411 1.0

Do what someone in charge tells you or follow a rule

to conform
96 3.2

Think and act like other people or follow rules

How Defiant

to mutiny
7 8.4
to go rogue
19 7.5
to defy
178 3.7
to push back
97 3.9

Surface Forms

go rogue infinitive
went rogue past
gone rogue past participle
going rogue present participle
goes rogue third person singular

Morphology

go + rogue

The verb 'go' can mean 'become' and combining it with 'rogue' (a person who behaves dishonestly or outside norms) yields a compositional sense of 'become rogue' — i.e., start acting independently or against rules. However, the collocational nuance (unexpected, defiant behaviour and the adjectival use of 'rogue') is not fully predictable for a B1 learner, so prior exposure helps.

Etymology

The phrase go rogue comes from the image of someone leaving the group and becoming a rogue, a person who does not follow orders or rules. That's why the phrase now means 'to act on their own and not follow rules'.