rebellion

Synonym Chooser

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 What was at first written off as mere youthful rebellion, destined to fizzle out, ultimately yielded the appointment of a Deaf president, and helped galvanize the greater movement that led to the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act. John Hendrickson, The Atlantic, 23 May 2025 The dance sequence that caps off the report, giving expression to centuries of female trauma and rebellion, takes us into a realm beyond words that likely would have terrorized the anxious men of 1692 Salem. Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2025 The end of season 2, which saw Lee Jung-jae’s Gi-hun try to stage a rebellion against the macabre games and the antagonistic Front Man, ended in a cliffhanger tragedy, so tension is already high going in for this final round. Lucy Ford, Time, 19 May 2025 The rebellion ramps up, but not without struggle, sacrifice, and Serena's help. EW.com, 20 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for rebellion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rebellion
Noun
  • Five days later, after a revolt, he was reinstated.
    Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 3 June 2025
  • Related article As Trump reignites a trade war and faces a bond market revolt, the economy is about to go through the wringer this week It’s been somewhat difficult to assess the true health of consumer spending lately.
    Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 27 May 2025
Noun
  • But general director Lawrence Edelson struck a note of defiance in his opening remarks on Friday, to cheers.
    Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 7 June 2025
  • Gyaltsen Norbu was installed by Beijing as the 11th Panchen Lama in 1995 in defiance of the religion’s highest authority the Dalai Lama, whose pick for the role — a six-year-old boy — has since vanished from public view.
    Nectar Gan, CNN Money, 6 June 2025
Noun
  • Although Tarrio himself was not in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, the Department of Justice viewed him as one of the masterminds of the insurrection.
    Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 12 June 2025
  • This marked the second time since 2020 that Cotton publicly argued to use the 1807 law, which gives the President of the United States the authority to mobilize the active-duty military within the U.S. in the case of an insurrection.
    Jenny Goldsberry, The Washington Examiner, 11 June 2025
Noun
  • The barricade at the heart of the novel and the musical is actually a scene from the savagely repressed uprising of June 1848.
    Graham Robb, The Atlantic, 9 June 2025
  • Those runs capped a seven-run, ninth-inning uprising that turned a 10-4 laugher into an 11-10 setback.
    Dan Schlossberg, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
Noun
  • But an unconvincing victory could eventually bubble up into the kind of discontent that fueled the Wagner paramilitary force mutiny in 2023.
    Anatoly Kurmanaev, New York Times, 17 May 2025
  • Although the crisis was quickly defused and Prigozhin was eliminated two months later, the mutiny dealt a significant blow to the regime.
    ANDREI YAKOVLEV, Foreign Affairs, 16 May 2025
Noun
  • Disgraced female Wakandan warrior Noni (voiced by Winnie Harlow), who has been banished from the kingdom’s female elite forces the Dora Milaje for disobedience, is dispatched on a mission to track-down the general and bring him back.
    Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 9 June 2025
  • In 2016, a British passenger flying Flybe—a now-defunct regional airline—from Amsterdam to Exeter was fined more than $600 for his disobedience.
    Katie Jackson, Travel + Leisure, 12 May 2025
Noun
  • The three Māori lawmakers declined to appear before the committee during its investigation, citing disrespect for their cultural traditions.
    Julia Zhong, NBC news, 5 June 2025
  • Kelce saw some disrespect in those rankings, coming in at No. 7 on the list.
    Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Rebellion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rebellion. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.

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