Synonyms for rebellious
- adjective
Most common
defiant disobedient mutinous insubordinate disorderly traitorous
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Insubordinate
insubordinate, defiant, disobedient, mutinous, disaffected, insurrectionary, seditious, unruly, discontented, recalcitrant, factious, riotous, malcontent, turbulent, ungovernable, insurgent, ill-affected, refractory, contumacious
2. Restive
restive, stubborn, unmanageable, obstinate, fractious, intractable
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Showing rebellion.
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Rebellious signifies being in a state of rebellion (see REBELLION under REVOLUTION), and is even extended to inanimate things that resist control or adaptation to human use.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- defiant The defiant manner is characteristic of teenagers.
- disobedient Disobedient boys can not be happy in this world.
- insubordinate Why are you so insubordinate to your boss?
- disorderly I was suspended from school for disorderly conduct.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| rebellious | rising | |
| defiant | rising | |
| disobedient | rising | |
| mutinous | rising | |
| insubordinate | steady | |
| disorderly | falling |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 6 letters
- unruly3
- 7 letters
- defiant3, riotous3, restive2
- 8 letters
- stubborn2, mutinous3, factious
- 9 letters
- turbulent3, insurgent3, obstinate3, seditious3, fractious2
- 10 letters
- disorderly4, refractory4, traitorous3, malcontent3
- 11 letters
- intractable4, disaffected4, disobedient5
- 12 letters
- unmanageable5, discontented4, recalcitrant4, ungovernable5, contumacious
- 13 letters
- insubordinate5
- 15 letters
- insurrectionary
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (unruly3 = 3 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- rebelle
- Deutsch
- aufrührerisch