Rebeldom refers to a region or territory controlled by rebels—revolutionaries trying to overthrow a government.

Rebeldom can also refer to rebels collectively, as in The rebeldom consisted of a ragtag coalition of fighters.

It can also be used as another word for rebellious behavior—behavior that breaks the rules, resists authority, or otherwise challenges the status quo. This can also be called rebelliousness or rebellion, though the word rebellion is more commonly used to refer to an attempt to overthrow a government—an organized revolution.

Despite its versatility, the word rebeldom is not commonly used.

Example: Government troops are closing in on the rebeldom in an attempt to take back the territory.

The first records of rebeldom come from around the 1850s. The word rebel is recorded earlier, in the 1300s, and is derived from the Latin bell(um), which means “war” and is also the root of war-related words like antebellum, belligerent, and bellicose. The suffix -dom is typically used to indicate a domain (as in kingdom) or as a collective way of referring to people (as in officialdom).

The word rebeldom came into usage around the time of the American Civil War, when members of the Confederacy, who attempted to secede from the Union, were called Rebels. The word rebeldom was used to refer to them collectively, the territory they held, or the status of being such a rebel.

Perhaps because the Confederacy was defeated, the word rebeldom has not gained much use since then. Today, you’re perhaps most likely to encounter it being used as a synonym for rebelliousness or the state of being a rebel in the sense of someone who breaks the rules to shake things up.

What are some other forms of rebeldom?

• rebel (noun, verb)

What are some synonyms for rebeldom?

• rebelliousness
• rebellion

What are some words that share a root or word element with rebeldom? 

• rebellious
• bellicose
• belligerent
• antebellum

What are some words that often get used in discussing rebeldom?

• territory
• region
• revolution
• authority
• rule
• war
• resistance
• insurgent

Rebeldom is not commonly used. In modern usage, it’s often used to refer to behavior by someone considered a rebel.

3/3 and striking terror into the heart of rebeldom, brought off near 800 slaves and thousands of dollars worth of property, without losing a man or receiving a scratch. It was a glorious consummation. – The Commonwealth, July 10, 1863

— Dorothy Berry (@dorothyjberry) June 2, 2020

I've worked with rebels with every kind of Myers-Briggs preference. Rebeldom is about being driven by values to challenge the status-quo

— Helen Bevan (@helenbevan) April 21, 2017

can a rebel combine forces with tons of other rebels without conforming to rebeldom? @Chris_Eh_Young @lizstrauss @boydjane @mckra1g

— Marjorie Clayman (@MargieClayman) September 17, 2012

Is rebeldom used correctly in the following sentence?

We will not stand for this rebeldom, this utter disregard for the rules!