Library / English Dictionary

REBEL

Irregular inflected forms: rebelled    , rebelling   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A person who takes part in an armed rebellion against the constituted authority (especially in the hope of improving conditions)

Synonyms:

freedom fighter; insurgent; insurrectionist; rebel

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("rebel" is a kind of...):

crusader; meliorist; reformer; reformist; social reformer (a disputant who advocates reform)

revolutionary; revolutionist; subversive; subverter (a radical supporter of political or social revolution)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rebel"):

mutineer (someone who is openly rebellious and refuses to obey authorities (especially seamen or soldiers))

Young Turk (a member of one or more of the insurgent groups in Turkey in the late 19th century who rebelled against the absolutism of Ottoman rule)

Instance hyponyms:

Nat Turner; Turner (United States slave and insurrectionist who in 1831 led a rebellion of slaves in Virginia; he was captured and executed (1800-1831))

Denmark Vesey; Vesey (United States freed slave and insurrectionist in South Carolina who was involved in planning an uprising of slaves and was hanged (1767-1822))

Sir William Wallace; Wallace (Scottish insurgent who led the resistance to Edward I; in 1297 he gained control of Scotland briefly until Edward invaded Scotland again and defeated Wallace and subsequently executed him (1270-1305))

Derivation:

rebel (take part in a rebellion; renounce a former allegiance)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Someone who exhibits great independence in thought and action

Synonyms:

maverick; rebel

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("rebel" is a kind of...):

nonconformist; recusant (someone who refuses to conform to established standards of conduct)

Derivation:

rebel (break with established customs)

Sense 3

Meaning:

'Johnny' was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; 'greyback' derived from their grey Confederate uniforms

Synonyms:

greyback; Johnny; Johnny Reb; Reb; Rebel

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("Rebel" is a kind of...):

Confederate soldier (a soldier in the Army of the Confederacy during the American Civil War)

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Take part in a rebellion; renounce a former allegiance

Synonyms:

arise; rebel; rise; rise up

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "rebel" is one way to...):

dissent; protest; resist (express opposition through action or words)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "rebel"):

revolt (make revolution)

mutiny (engage in a mutiny against an authority)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

They rebel

Derivation:

rebel (a person who takes part in an armed rebellion against the constituted authority (especially in the hope of improving conditions))

rebellion (organized opposition to authority; a conflict in which one faction tries to wrest control from another)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Break with established customs

Synonyms:

rebel; renegade

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "rebel" is one way to...):

dissent; protest; resist (express opposition through action or words)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

rebel (someone who exhibits great independence in thought and action)

rebellion (refusal to accept some authority or code or convention)

Credits

 Context examples: 

They may rebel.

(Child Development, NIH)

The fact is, I was a trifle beside myself; or rather out of myself, as the French would say: I was conscious that a moment's mutiny had already rendered me liable to strange penalties, and, like any other rebel slave, I felt resolved, in my desperation, to go all lengths.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

There were ten thousand rebels round us, and they were as keen as a set of terriers round a rat-cage.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Life, when it knows that it must cease living, will always rebel.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

These are two of many possible examples, but the way this would work is that you would rebel and break out of the situation quite suddenly.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

The encouragement Buck gave the rebels led them into all kinds of petty misdemeanors.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Amy rebelled outright, and passionately declared that she had rather have the fever than go to Aunt March.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Mealy Potatoes uprose once, and rebelled against my being so distinguished; but Mick Walker settled him in no time.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I suppose I do come on; though in what fashion I know not; being scarcely cognisant of my movements, and solicitous only to appear calm; and, above all, to control the working muscles of my face—which I feel rebel insolently against my will, and struggle to express what I had resolved to conceal.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

My offer was accepted, and I talked it over with Sergeant Barclay, who was supposed to know the ground better than any other man, and who drew up a route by which I might get through the rebel lines.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)