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rebel

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rebel¹

  • /ˈɹɛb.əl/
  • /ˈɹeb.əl/ Australia

Where it comes from

From Middle English rebel, rebell, from Old French rebelle, from Latin rebellis (“waging war again; insurgent”), from rebellō (“to wage war again, fight back”), from re- (“again, back”) + bellō (“to wage war”).

noun rebels

  1. A person who resists an established authority, often violently. A group of rebels defied the general's orders and split off from the main army.

    Similar: malcontent, renegade

  2. US, historical Synonym of Confederate: a citizen of the Confederate States of America, especially a Confederate soldier.

    Similar: Confederate

rebel²

  • /ɹɪˈbɛl/
  • /ɹɪˈbel/ Australia

Rhymes with -ɛl

Where it comes from

From Middle English rebellen, from Old French rebeller, from Latin rebellō (“to wage war again, fight back”), from re- (“again, back”) + bellō (“to wage war”). Doublet of revel.

verb rebels · rebelling · rebelled

  1. intransitive To resist or become defiant toward an authority. to rebel against the system
  2. intransitive To forcefully subvert the law of the land in an attempt to replace it with another form of government.

Similar: defy · Opposite: obey, submit

Rebel³

Where it comes from

From rebel.

noun Rebels

  1. US A Confederate soldier; of the American Civil War.

    Similar: Johnny Reb, Reb

Rebel⁴

Where it comes from

Borrowed from German Rebel.

proper noun Rebels

  1. A surname from German.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: insurgent, rebellious, renegade, mutineer, insurrectionist, disloyal, arise, rise, rise up, reb, johnny reb, maverick, southern, grayback, johnny, revolt

verb

Similar: defy · Opposite: obey, submit

Translations

Every language

noun person who resists an established authority

Españolrebelde
한국어반역자 banyeokja
日本語反逆者 hangyakusha
中文反叛者 fǎnpànzhě, 起義者 /起义者 qǐyìzhě
हिन्दीबाग़ी bāġī, बागी bāgī, विद्रोही vidrohī, द्रोही drohī
Kiswahilimwasi
Portuguêsrebelde
Françaisrebelle
DeutschRebell, Aufrührer
Italianoribelle
Ελληνικάαντάρτης antártis
Românărebel, rebelă
Русскийбунтовщи́к buntovščík, бунтовщи́ца buntovščíca, повста́нец povstánec, мяте́жник mjatéžnik, мяте́жница mjatéžnica, бунта́рь buntárʹ
Tiếng Việtngười nổi loạn, người phiến loạn
العربيةمُتَمَرِّد mutamarrid, مُتَمَرِّدَة mutamarrida, ثَائِر ṯāʔir, عَاصٍ ʕāṣin
עבריתמוֹרֵד moréd

verb to resist or become defiant towards

Españolrebelarse
한국어모반하다 mobanhada
日本語背く somuku, 抗う aragau, 反逆する hangyaku suru, 反抗する hankō suru
中文反叛 fǎnpàn, 造反 zàofǎn, 反抗 fǎnkàng, 起義 /起义 qǐyì
हिन्दीविद्रोह vidroh, द्रोह करना droh karnā, विद्रोह करना vidroh karnā
Kiswahilikuasi
Portuguêsrebelar
Françaisse rebeller
Deutschrebellieren, sich auflehnen, aufbegehren
Italianoribellarsi
Ελληνικάεπαναστατήσει epanastatísei
Русскийбунтова́ть buntovátʹ, взбунтова́ться vzbuntovátʹsja, восстава́ть vosstavátʹ, восста́ть vosstátʹ
العربيةتَمَرَّدَ tamarrada, يَتَمَرَّدُ yatamarradu
עבריתמָרַד marád

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MLA

"rebel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/rebel. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

rebel. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/rebel

Chicago

"rebel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/rebel.

BibTeX
@misc{rebel_2026,
  title = {rebel},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/rebel},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}