REBELS Synonyms: 49 Similar and Opposite Words

rebels 1 of 2

noun

plural of rebel

as in insurgents

a person who rises up against authority the rebel would not submit peacefully, even after he was captured

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

rebels

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of rebel

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

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 rebels

Noun

Tens of thousands have been killed and millions displaced as pro-democracy groups and ethnic rebels battle the military across the country. — Helen Regan, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2026 Conflict began in the country in 2013 after mostly Muslim rebels seized power and forced then President François Bozizé to quit. — ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026 That’s as Tehran has used its proxies to expand the war across the region, most notably Houthis rebels threatening ships in the Red Sea that are trying to use the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 2 Aug. 2026 Upon learning of their retreat, Calvinus punished his troops by reportedly executing one-in-10 men from two units before setting his sights on the rebels. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 30 July 2026 The rebels have declared a blockade of Saudi shipping that could choke off another crucial Middle East trade route, the Bab el-Mandeb strait from the Red Sea into the Gulf of Aden. — Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026 Many rebels believed the burden of repaying the public debt fell disproportionately on common people while benefiting elites. — Donovan Fifield, The Conversation, 16 July 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

The attack occurred in Mastung, a district in Balochistan province where separatist insurgents have stepped up attacks on security forces and civilians in recent months.

— ABC News, ABC News, 23 July 2026
One of the insurgents, a doctoral student in sociology named Darializa Avila Chevalier, is far more emblematic of the DSA’s radicalism.

— James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026