REBELLION Synonyms: 85 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the noun 'rebellion' differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of rebellion are insurrection , mutiny , revolt , revolution , and uprising . While all these words mean "an outbreak against authority," rebellion implies an open formidable resistance that is often unsuccessful. // open rebellion against the officers

Q: Where would 'mutiny' be a reasonable alternative to 'rebellion'?

The words mutiny and rebellion can be used in similar contexts, but mutiny applies to group insubordination or insurrection especially against naval authority. // a mutiny led by the ship's cook

Q: How do 'revolt' and 'insurrection' relate to one another, in the sense of 'rebellion'?

Both revolt and insurrection imply an armed uprising that quickly fails or succeeds. // a revolt by the Young Turks that surprised party leaders // an insurrection of oppressed laborers

Q: When might 'revolution' be a better fit than 'rebellion'?

The words revolution and rebellion are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, revolution applies to a successful rebellion resulting in a major change (as in government). // a political revolution that toppled the monarchy

Q: In what contexts can 'uprising' take the place of 'rebellion'?

While in some cases nearly identical to rebellion , uprising implies a brief, limited, and often immediately ineffective rebellion. // quickly put down the uprising

rebellion

noun

ri-ˈbel-yən

Definition of rebellion

as in revolt

open fighting against authority (as one's own government) the rebellion would have failed if not for the aid sent by other countries

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as in defiance

refusal to obey the period of rebellion that teenagers typically go through

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How does the noun rebellion differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of rebellion are insurrection, mutiny, revolt, revolution, and uprising. While all these words mean "an outbreak against authority," rebellion implies an open formidable resistance that is often unsuccessful.

open rebellion against the officers

Where would mutiny be a reasonable alternative to rebellion?

The words mutiny and rebellion can be used in similar contexts, but mutiny applies to group insubordination or insurrection especially against naval authority.

a mutiny led by the ship's cook

How do revolt and insurrection relate to one another, in the sense of rebellion?

Both revolt and insurrection imply an armed uprising that quickly fails or succeeds.

a revolt by the Young Turks that surprised party leaders

an insurrection of oppressed laborers

When might revolution be a better fit than rebellion?

The words revolution and rebellion are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, revolution applies to a successful rebellion resulting in a major change (as in government).

a political revolution that toppled the monarchy

In what contexts can uprising take the place of rebellion?

While in some cases nearly identical to rebellion, uprising implies a brief, limited, and often immediately ineffective rebellion.

quickly put down the uprising

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of rebellion The creators are describing the title as Inglourious Bastards, Quentin Tarantino’s down in the dirt revisionist World War Two movie, meets V for Vendetta, Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s anti-fascist British tale of rebellion. — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026 To pair the piece with Celine’s more tailored pieces like the trousers and blouse added a tonal contrast that still executed on its luxury aesthetic, though with a touch of rebellion. — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026 These layered styles exuded rebellion and were made famous around the globe by figures like Joan Jett. — María Diez, Glamour, 26 Sep. 2026 In Fernández’s version, Antíkona’s insubordination inspires a peoples’ rebellion and brings an end to Klion’s rule due to his inability to treat citizens with common decency. — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for rebellion

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rebellion

Noun

The 2022 Freedom Convoy began over vaccine requirements for cross-border truckers but grew into a broader revolt against pandemic restrictions.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
Advertisement The Yellow Vest revolt of 2018 to 2019 was an earlier social explosion of precisely that resentment.

— Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of revolt

Noun

These women — cradle Catholics and converts, former nuns, teachers, hospice chaplains, counselors, spouses, mothers, grandmothers — say their defiance is the fulfillment of a vocation, no different than the call answered by their male counterparts.

— Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Taking the Long Way, more than anger or defiance, zeroes in on the sting of being ousted from your own home.

— Shaad D’Souza, Pitchfork, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of defiance

Noun

How is the Schaumburg Democrat grappling with that fateful outcome, while preparing to depart Congress after 10 tumultuous years, which included a pandemic, an insurrection and impeachment proceedings?

— Marni Pyke, Chicago Tribune, 13 Oct. 2026
The film argues that those foundational principles — along with the amendment’s prohibition against those who engage in insurrection serving as heads of state — have come under unprecedented pressure in recent years.

— Clayton Davis, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of insurrection

Noun

The stigma helped imprint a stamp of rebelliousness on the brand which lives on today, says Carpenter, even as Burton has become a fixture on resort slopes across the world and within the annals of Olympian history.

— Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
Whether writing five decades ago or today, the genre’s most insightful commentators have always observed how punk fuses rebelliousness with commodification, capitalism with resistance.

— Kyle Devine, Longreads, 14 July 2026

Definition of rebelliousness

Noun

Gavras’s previous film, the magnificent Athena, was an action epic and family tragedy about an uprising at a French housing project.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
But Qaddafi’s military forces were decisively defeated by Western airpower and his objective of crushing a popular uprising by force was rendered impossible.

— Justin Bronk, Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of uprising

Noun

After federal prosecutors and defense attorneys had presented all their evidence Tuesday, Morrow’s attorneys asked Orso to dismiss the three petty charges accusing her of obstruction, disruption and disobedience.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 2026
Another child said he was forced to carry out artillery strikes and beaten for disobedience.

— Sam Mednick, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of disobedience

Noun

Its leader, Sergei Mironov, 73, once gained headlines by posing with a symbol of brutality — a sledgehammer given to him by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late Wagner mercenary leader shortly before his failed 2023 mutiny.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026
Step aboard the Grampus, a whaleship gone adrift after a storm, rations running out and a violent mutiny, and learn what happened to its ghost whalers.

— Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of mutiny

Noun

And from that boredom, a different kind of will, the willfulness that accompanies a need to destroy that happiness.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
From grandmother to grandchild, these three sets of two sisters were powerful characters possessed with passion, willfulness, bravery, and devotion to each other.

— Griffin Dunne, Vanity Fair, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of willfulness

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“Rebellion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rebellion. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of rebellion

noun

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