rebel

See also: Rebel

English

Etymology 1

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”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: rĕbʹəl, IPA^(key): /ˈɹɛb.əl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈɹeb.əl/

Noun

rebel (plural rebels)

1. A person who resists an established authority, often violently.

   Synonyms: malcontent, renegade

   A group of rebels defied the general's orders and split off from the main army.

   My little sister is such a rebel - coming home late, piercing her ears, and refusing to do any of her chores.

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

Derived terms

• antirebel
• Euro-rebel
• Johnny Reb
• nonrebel
• reb
• rebeldom
• rebeless
• rebel flag
• rebelhood
• rebellike
• rebelly
• rebelsome
• rebel without a cause
• rebel yell

Related terms

• rebellion
• rebellious

Translations

person who resists an established authority

• Albanian: rebel (sq) m
• Arabic: مُتَمَرِّد m (mutamarrid), مُتَمَرِّدَة f (mutamarrida), ثَائِر m (ṯāʔir), عَاصٍ m (ʕāṣin)
• Armenian: ապստամբ (hy) (apstamb)
• Azerbaijani: üsyançı, qiyamçı
• Belarusian: бунтаўшчы́к m (buntawščýk), паўста́нец m (pawstánjec), бунта́р m (buntár)
• Bengali: বিদ্রোহী (bn) (bidrōhi)
• Bulgarian: бунто́вник (bg) m (buntóvnik), бунта́р (bg) m (buntár), въста́ник (bg) m (vǎstánik), мете́жник (bg) m (metéžnik)
• Burmese: သူပုန် (my) (supun)
• Catalan: rebel (ca) m or f
• Chechen: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 反叛者 (fǎnpànzhě), 起義者 / 起义者 (zh) (qǐyìzhě)

• Czech: povstalec m, rebel (cs) m, buřič m, vzbouřenec m
• Danish: rebel (da) c, oprører c
• Dutch: rebel (nl) m, opstandeling (nl) m
• Egyptian: (sbj)
• Esperanto: ribelulo
• Estonian: mässaja, vastuhakkaja
• Finnish: kapinallinen (fi), niskoittelija (fi), niskuri (fi)
• French: rebelle (fr) m or f
• Georgian: მეამბოხე (meamboxe), მეჯანყე (meǯanq̇e)
• German: Rebell (de) m, Aufrührer (de) m
• Greek: αντάρτης (el) m (antártis)

  Ancient Greek: ἀντάρτης m (antártēs)

• Hebrew: מוֹרֵד (he) m (moréd)
• Hindi: बाग़ी m (bāġī), बागी (hi) m (bāgī), विद्रोही (hi) m (vidrohī), द्रोही (hi) m (drohī)
• Hungarian: lázadó (hu)
• Icelandic: uppreisnarmaður (is) m
• Indonesian: pendurhaka (id), pembangkang (id), pemberontak (id)
• Italian: ribelle (it) m or f
• Japanese: 反逆者 (ja) (はんぎゃくしゃ, hangyakusha)
• Kazakh: бүлікші (bülıkşı), көтерілісші (köterılısşı)
• Khmer: កុបករ (km) (kopaʼkɑɑ), អ្នកបះបោរ (nĕək bah bao)
• Korean: 반역자(反逆者) (ko) (banyeokja)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: isyanker (ku), serhildêr (ku)

• Kyrgyz: козголоңчу (kozgoloŋcu), көтөрүлүшчү (kötörülüşcü)
• Lao: ກະບົດ (ka bot)
• Latin: rebellis m
• Latvian: nemiernieks m, dumpinieks m
• Lithuanian: maištininkas m, maištininkė f, sukilėlis m, sukilėlė f
• Macedonian: бунтовник m (buntovnik), востаник m (vostanik)
• Malay: pemberontak
• Māori: kaiwhana, hauhau
• Marathi: बंडखोर m (baṇḍkhor)
• Mon: ညးသပုန် (mnw)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: босогч (mn) (bosogč)

• Norman: révolté m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: opprører m, rebell m

  Nynorsk: opprørar m, rebell m

• Pali: ^{(please verify)} dāmarika m
• Pashto: باغي m (bāǧi)
• Persian: شورشی (fa) (šureši), یاغی (fa) (bâġi)
• Polish: buntownik (pl) m, buntowniczka f, powstaniec (pl) m
• Portuguese: rebelde (pt) m or f
• Romanian: rebel (ro) m, rebelă f
• Russian: бунтовщи́к (ru) m (buntovščík), бунтовщи́ца (ru) f (buntovščíca), повста́нец (ru) m (povstánec), мяте́жник (ru) m (mjatéžnik), мяте́жница (ru) f (mjatéžnica), бунта́рь (ru) m (buntárʹ), бунта́рка (ru) f (buntárka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: побуњѐнӣк m, побуњѐница f, у̀станӣк m, у̀станица f, бу̀нто̄внӣк m, бу̀нто̄вница f

  Latin: pobunjènīk (sh) m, pobunjènica (sh) f, ùstanīk (sh) m, ùstanica (sh) f, bùntōvnīk (sh) m, bùntōvnica (sh) f

• Slovak: povstalec m, burič m, vzbúrenec m
• Slovene: upornik (sl) m
• Spanish: rebelde (es) m or f
• Swahili: mwasi
• Swedish: rebell (sv) c, upprorsman (sv) m
• Tajik: шӯришгар (šürišgar), исёнгар (isyongar), балвогар (balvogar), исёнкор (isyonkor)
• Thai: กบฏ (th) (gà-bòt)
• Turkish: isyancı (tr)
• Turkmen: gozgalaňçy
• Ukrainian: бунтівни́к (uk) m (buntivnýk), повста́нець m (povstánecʹ), бунта́р (uk) m (buntár)
• Urdu: باغی m (bāġī)
• Uyghur: ئىسيانچى (isyanchi), غەلىيانچى (gheliyanchi)
• Uzbek: isyonchi (uz), qoʻzgʻolonchi (uz)
• Vietnamese: người nổi loạn, người phiến loạn
• Welsh: gwrthryfelwr m
• Yiddish: רעבעל m (rebel), אויפֿשטאַנדלער m (oyfshtandler), אויפֿשטענדלער m (oyfshtendler), בונטאָווניק m (buntovnik), בונטאַר m (buntar)
• Zazaki: isyankar c, xoverdar c

Etymology 2

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.

Pronunciation

• enPR: rĭ-bĕlʹ, IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈbɛl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈbel/
• Rhymes: -ɛl

Verb

rebel (third-person singular simple present rebels, present participle rebelling, simple past and past participle rebelled)

1. (intransitive) To resist or become defiant toward an authority.

   to rebel against the system

   • 2014 April 17, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Thursday, Apr 17, 2014:

     "Tedd's feeling a bit rebellious." "I'm not rebelling! I'm self actualizing! By rebelling."

2. (intransitive, politics) To forcefully subvert the law of the land in an attempt to replace it with another form of government.

Synonyms

• defy

Antonyms

• obey
• submit

Derived terms

• nonrebelling
• unrebelling

Translations

to resist or become defiant towards

• Arabic: تَمَرَّدَ (tamarrada), (imperfect) يَتَمَرَّدُ (yatamarradu)

  Egyptian Arabic: اتمرد (itmárrad)

• Armenian: ապստամբել (hy) (apstambel)
• Belarusian: бунтава́ць impf (buntavácʹ), бунтава́цца impf (buntavácca), паўстава́ць impf (pawstavácʹ), паўста́ць pf (pawstácʹ)
• Bulgarian: бунту́вам се (bg) impf (buntúvam se), въста́вам (bg) impf (vǎstávam), въста́на pf (vǎstána)
• Chechen: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 反叛 (zh) (fǎnpàn), 造反 (zh) (zàofǎn), 反抗 (zh) (fǎnkàng), 起義 / 起义 (zh) (qǐyì)

• Czech: bouřit se
• Danish: rebel (da)
• Dutch: rebelleren (nl), opstaan (nl)
• Egyptian: (sbj)
• Esperanto: ribeli
• Finnish: kapinoida (fi), niskuroida (fi)
• French: se rebeller (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: rebellieren (de), sich auflehnen, aufbegehren (de)
• Greek: επαναστατήσει (el) (epanastatísei)
• Hebrew: מָרַד (he) (marád)
• Hindi: विद्रोह (hi) m (vidroh), द्रोह करना (droh karnā), विद्रोह करना (vidroh karnā)
• Indonesian: memberontak (id), membangkang (id)
• Italian: ribellarsi (it)
• Japanese: 背く (ja) (somuku), 抗う (ja) (aragau), 反逆する (ja) (hangyaku suru), 反抗する (ja) (hankō suru)
• Korean: 모반하다 (mobanhada)
• Latin: rebellō
• Lithuanian: maištauti
• Māori: whana
• Marathi: बंड करणे (baṇḍa karṇe)
• Polish: buntować się (pl)
• Portuguese: rebelar (pt)
• Russian: бунтова́ть (ru) (buntovátʹ), взбунтова́ться (ru) pf (vzbuntovátʹsja), восстава́ть (ru) impf (vosstavátʹ), восста́ть (ru) pf (vosstátʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: èirich
• Serbo-Croatian: búniti (sh), pobúniti (sh)
• Slovak: búriť sa impf
• Spanish: rebelarse (es)
• Swahili: kuasi (+ direct object) (sw)
• Swedish: göra uppror, rebellera (sv), resa sig
• Thai: ก่อกบฏ (gɔ̀ɔ-gà-bòt), กบฏ (th) (gà-bòt)
• Turkish: isyan etmek (tr), ayaklanmak (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: قالقمق (kalkmak), آیاقلانمق (ayaklanmak)

• Ukrainian: бунтува́ти (uk) impf (buntuváty), повстава́ти impf (povstaváty), повста́ти pf (povstáty)
• Welsh: gwrthryfela (cy)
• Zazaki: isyan kerden

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin rebellis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [rəˈβɛl]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [rəˈbɛl]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [reˈbɛl]

Adjective

rebel m or f (masculine and feminine plural rebels)

1. rebellious
2. persistent, stubborn

Derived terms

• rebel·lia
• rebel·lió

Noun

rebel m or f by sense (plural rebels)

1. rebel

Related terms

• rebel·lar-se

Further reading

• “rebel”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from German Rebell.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈrɛbɛl]

Noun

rebel m anim (female equivalent rebelka)

1. rebel

   Synonym: povstalec m

   Je to věčný rebel. ― He is an eternal rebel.

Declension

Declension of rebel (hard masculine animate)

	singular	plural
nominative	rebel	rebelové
genitive	rebela	rebelů
dative	rebelovi, rebelu	rebelům
accusative	rebela	rebely
vocative	rebele	rebelové
locative	rebelovi, rebelu	rebelech
instrumental	rebelem	rebely

Related terms

• rebelant
• rebelantský
• rebelie
• rebelský

Further reading

• “rebel”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “rebel”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “rebel”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch rebel, 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”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rəˈbɛl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: re‧bel
• Rhymes: -ɛl

Noun

rebel m (plural rebellen, diminutive rebelletje n)

1. rebel

   Synonym: opstandeling

Derived terms

• rebellie
• rebels

Adjective

rebel (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) rebellious

   Synonyms: opstandig, rebels

Middle English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old French rebelle, from Latin rebellis.

Alternative forms

• rabell, rebell, rebelle, reble, rebul, rebyll

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈrɛbɛl/, /ˈrɛbəl/, /ˈrɛːbəl/

Noun

rebel (plural rebels or rebelx) (chiefly Late Middle English)

1. A sinner (as one who rebels against a deity)
2. A rebel (combatant against the extant government)
3. One who refuses to follow directives or regulations; a rulebreaker.
4. (rare) An uprising or revolt against one's authorities.
5. (rare) One's opponent; an enemy individual.

Derived terms

• rebellen
• rebellioun
• rebellious
• rebelloure
• rebellyng
• rebelnesse
• rebelte

Descendants

• English: rebel
• Scots: rebel

References

• “rebel, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 16 September 2018.
• “rebel, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 16 September 2018.

Adjective

rebel

1. Treasonous, rebelling; leading an insurrection.
2. Sinful, iniquitous; defying the commands of a divine authority.
3. Disobedient, undutiful; refusing to follow directives or laws, or rules.
4. (rare) Refractory, set in one's ways or opinions.
5. (rare) Impatient, overly hurried or quick.

References

• “rebel, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 16 September 2018.

Etymology 2

Verb

rebel

1. alternative form of rebellen

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French rebelle, from Latin Rebelle.

Adjective

rebel m or n (feminine singular rebelă, masculine plural rebeli, feminine/neuter plural rebele)

1. rebel, insurgent

Declension

Declension of rebel

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	rebel		rebelă	rebeli	rebele
	definite	rebelul		rebela	rebelii	rebelele
genitive- dative	indefinite	rebel		rebele	rebeli	rebele
	definite	rebelului		rebelei	rebelilor	rebelelor