A rebellion is an attempt to overthrow a government—an organized revolution.

It can also refer to a revolt against another form of authority. More generally, rebellion can refer to an action or behavior that resists or defies rules or norms or otherwise challenges the status quo.

The verb rebel means to engage in rebellion. As a noun, rebel can refer to a revolutionary or to a person who is defiant or disobedient. Such a defiant person can be called rebellious, and the noun rebelliousness refers to such behavior. Rebellion can also refer to this, as in I went through a phase of teenage rebellion.

Example: The rebellion is being led by a coalition of factions that all have the same goal—to topple the regime.

The first records of the word rebellion come from the 1300s. It is derived from the Latin bell(um), which means “war” and is also the root of war-related words like antebellum, belligerent, and bellicose.

To rebel is to make war against something you disagree with or refuse to conform to. In its most traditional sense, rebel literally means to wage war against a government or other form of rule in order to overthrow it. When multiple people participate in this kind of act, it is called a rebellion. Rebellion is commonly used as a synonym for revolution, but the word rebellion is perhaps more commonly used when it’s in progress, whereas revolution is used to refer to a successful rebellion.

More generally, a person who challenges the established rules or the way things are is engaging in rebellion. Acts of rebellion often reject the status quo, regardless of society’s restrictions or expectations.

What are some other forms of rebellion?

• rebel (noun, verb)

What are some synonyms for rebellion?

• revolution
• revolt
• disobedience
• defiance

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

• rebellious
• bellicose
• belligerent
• antebellum

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

• revolutionary
• government
• overthrow
• authority
• rule
• war
• resistance
• insurgent

Rebellion is commonly used in reference to people attempting to overthrow a government, but it can be used in many other contexts.

#OTD 1953: East German Workers Uprising: In East Germany, the Soviet Union orders a division of troops into East Berlin to quell a rebellion. Disturbances spread accross East Germany, made up of students, workers and political groups. #coldwarhist pic.twitter.com/gEpIlZagoC

— Politics & Contemporary History at Salford (@SalfordUni_PCH) June 17, 2020

My cover story for the July edition of @RollingStone, on the current American rebellion against police violence and systemic racism—through the lens of the three women who first put the words “black lives matter” into our political lexicon seven years ago. https://t.co/4buz65ZVI7 pic.twitter.com/zjNgqOFr6M

— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) June 16, 2020

in a system built to destroy you, your joy is an act of rebellion.

— Joél Leon. (@JoelakaMaG) June 16, 2020

Is rebellion used correctly in the following sentence?

Signs of rebellion among the stockholders have been growing since the last earnings report was released.