rebel

[n., adj. reb-uh l; v. ri-bel] /n., adj. ˈrɛb əl; v. rɪˈbɛl/
noun
1.
a person who refuses allegiance to, resists, or rises in arms against the government or ruler of his or her country.
2.
a person who resists any authority, control, or tradition.
adjective
3.
rebellious; defiant.
4.
of or pertaining to rebels.
verb (used without object), rebel, rebelled, rebelling.
5.
to reject, resist, or rise in arms against one's government or ruler.
6.
to resist or rise against some authority, control, or tradition.
7.
to show or feel utter repugnance:
His very soul rebelled at spanking the child.
Origin
1250-1300; (adj.) Middle English < Old French rebelle < Latin rebellis renewing a war, equivalent to re- re- + bell(um) war + -is adj. suffix; (v.) Middle English rebellen (< Old French rebeller) < Latin rebellāre; (noun) Middle English rebel, derivative of the adj.
Related forms
rebellike, adjective
nonrebel, noun, adjective
prorebel, adjective
semirebel, noun
Synonyms
1. insurrectionist, mutineer, traitor. 1, 3. insurgent. 3. mutinous. 5. revolt, mutiny.
Examples from the web for rebel
  • In my experience underachieving teenagers are likely to rebel at any such such suggestions.
  • All that will do is make them feel guilty and then rebel.
  • If that were to occur, these same people would recognize their plight and perhaps rebel.
  • Today, a group of physicists rebel against this idea.
  • What used to be seen mostly on sailors and rebel rock stars is now a cultural norm.
  • He was with a group when rebel soldiers invaded their camp and took them all hostage.
  • Kids will do what kids will do to rebel until they find something better to do.
  • But to be a rebel you must rebel against an establishment.
  • He subdued the rebel by the process of fascinating him.
  • The village rebel who will not conform rebels first against the local religion.
British Dictionary definitions for rebel

rebel

verb (rɪˈbɛl) -bels, -belling, -belled (intransitive) often foll by against
1.
to resist or rise up against a government or other authority, esp by force of arms
2.
to dissent from an accepted moral code or convention of behaviour, dress, etc
3.
to show repugnance (towards)
noun (ˈrɛbəl)
4.
  1. a person who rebels
  2. (as modifier): a rebel soldier, a rebel leader
5.
a person who dissents from some accepted moral code or convention of behaviour, dress, etc
Derived Forms
rebeldom, noun
Word Origin
C13: from Old French rebelle, from Latin rebellis insurgent, from re- + bellum war
Word Origin and History for rebel
adj.

c.1300, from Old French rebelle "stubborn, obstinate, rebellious" (12c.) and directly from Latin rebellis "insurgent, rebellious," from rebellare "to rebel, revolt," from re- "opposite, against," or perhaps "again" (see re-) + bellare "wage war," from bellum "war."

v.

mid-14c., from Old French rebeller (14c.), from Latin rebellare "to revolt" (see rebel (adj.)). Related: Rebelled; rebelling.

n.

"person who makes war on his country for political motives," mid-14c., from rebel (adj.). Meaning "supporter of the American cause in the War of Independence" is from 1775; sense of "supporter of the Southern cause in the American Civil War" is attested from April 15, 1861. Rebel yell in an American Civil War context attested from 1862, but the thing itself is older and was said to have been picked up by southwestern men in their periodic wars against the Indians.

The Southern troops, when charging or to express their delight, always yell in a manner peculiar to themselves. The Yankee cheer is more like ours; but the Confederate officers declare that the rebel yell has a particular merit, and always produces a salutary and useful effect upon their adversaries. A corps is sometimes spoken of as a 'good yelling regiment.' [A.J.L. Fremantle, "The Battle of Gettysburg and the Campaign in Pennsylvania," in "Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine," Sept. 1863]

Slang definitions & phrases for rebel

Rebel

noun

A white Southerner (1862+)