as in insurgents
a person who rises up against authority
the rebel would not submit peacefully, even after he was captured
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in revolts
to rise up against established authority
the colonists rebelled in the wake of an onslaught of abuses
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of rebels
Literary Hub, 18 May 2026
The rebels have imprisoned thousands of people including United Nations staffers.
—ABC News, 18 May 2026
Over the past quarter-century, the UKMTO has dealt with other shipping crises too, as when Somali pirates were most active during the late 2000s or Houthi rebels in Yemen intensified their attacks on vessels passing through the Red Sea in 2023.
—Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 17 May 2026
The Loyalist commander, Major Ferguson, charges Jamie on horseback after the fighting is over and the Redcoats are surrendering to the rebels.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
In March, Washington sanctioned Rwanda’s defense forces and several senior officials, accusing them of funding the M23 rebels who have taken over mineral-rich areas of eastern DR Congo.
—Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 15 May 2026
Young Ofelia and her pregnant mother have been brought to live in the countryside, where her brutal stepfather Captain Vidal’s job is to wipe out the remaining rebels camped in the local forest.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 13 May 2026
The rebels’ final push to victory would take them right past the front door of Cardenas’ three-quarter-acre hacienda.
—Ed Guzman, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2026
Paris intervened in Mali in 2013 when a jihadist insurgency threatened to spin out of control, and led a largely Western force in fighting jihadist rebels.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 10 May 2026
Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 18 Mar. 2026
Set against the backdrop of the 1998 São Paulo World Cup between Brazil and France, Amarela follows 14-year-old Erika Oguihara (Melissa Uehara), a Japanese Brazilian sports fanatic who rebels against her family’s more Japanese cultural traditions.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 10 Jan. 2026
As the professor navigates retirement, the baby grows into a rambunctious child who rebels against the traditions of her fishing community.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
Noun
Puskin was sent into exile by Tsar Alexander I after his poem Ode to Liberty was found among the possessions of the rebels of the Decemberist uprising.
—Literary Hub, 18 May 2026
The rebels have imprisoned thousands of people including United Nations staffers.
—ABC News, 18 May 2026
Over the past quarter-century, the UKMTO has dealt with other shipping crises too, as when Somali pirates were most active during the late 2000s or Houthi rebels in Yemen intensified their attacks on vessels passing through the Red Sea in 2023.
—Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 17 May 2026
The Loyalist commander, Major Ferguson, charges Jamie on horseback after the fighting is over and the Redcoats are surrendering to the rebels.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
In March, Washington sanctioned Rwanda’s defense forces and several senior officials, accusing them of funding the M23 rebels who have taken over mineral-rich areas of eastern DR Congo.
—Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 15 May 2026
Young Ofelia and her pregnant mother have been brought to live in the countryside, where her brutal stepfather Captain Vidal’s job is to wipe out the remaining rebels camped in the local forest.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 13 May 2026
The rebels’ final push to victory would take them right past the front door of Cardenas’ three-quarter-acre hacienda.
—Ed Guzman, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2026
Paris intervened in Mali in 2013 when a jihadist insurgency threatened to spin out of control, and led a largely Western force in fighting jihadist rebels.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 10 May 2026
Verb
Masahiro Motoki — the Oscar-winning star of Departures — plays a lord who rebels against warlord Oda Nobunaga and barricades himself inside Arioka Castle, only to face a string of unsolved murders within its walls.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 18 Mar. 2026
Set against the backdrop of the 1998 São Paulo World Cup between Brazil and France, Amarela follows 14-year-old Erika Oguihara (Melissa Uehara), a Japanese Brazilian sports fanatic who rebels against her family’s more Japanese cultural traditions.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 10 Jan. 2026
As the professor navigates retirement, the baby grows into a rambunctious child who rebels against the traditions of her fishing community.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rebels
Noun
-
Many advanced states understand the need for some kind of violent reaction to terrorists or insurgents, usually as a task for special-operations forces.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2026
-
Both political insurgents were elected under extraordinary circumstances.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
In the second half of the 20th century, everyone who was anyone in American culture – from Hollywood icons to presidents and revolutionaries – had their portrait taken by Avedon.—
Sheena McKenzie,
CNN Money,
18 May 2026
-
In a video message, Rubio discussed the faith of American revolutionaries and the role of Christian missionaries who aimed to spread the Gospel through the country's western expansion.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rebels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rebels. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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