rebellious (adj.)

"insubordinate, defying lawful authority, acting as rebels do or having the disposition of one," early 15c., from Latin rebellis (see rebel (adj.)) + -ous. Of things, "hard to treat or deal with," 1570s. Another old word for it was rebellant (early 15c.). Related: Rebelliously; rebelliousness.

Entries linking to rebellious

rebel (adj.)

c. 1300, "resisting an established or rightful government or law, insurrectionist; lawless," 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" (see bellicose). By 1680s as "belonging to or controlled by rebels."

-ous

word-forming element making adjectives from nouns, meaning "having, full of, having to do with, doing, inclined to," from Old French -ous, -eux, from Latin -osus (compare -ose (1)). In chemistry, "having a lower valence than forms expressed in -ic."

Share rebellious

‘cite’

Page URL:

https://www.etymonline.com/word/rebellious

HTML Link:

<a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/rebellious">Etymology of rebellious by etymonline</a>

APA style:

Harper, D. (n.d.). Etymology of rebellious. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved $(datetime), from https://www.etymonline.com/word/rebellious

Chicago style:

Harper Douglas, “Etymology of rebellious,” Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed $(datetime), https://www.etymonline.com/word/rebellious.

MLA style:

Harper, Douglas. “Etymology of rebellious.” Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/rebellious. Accessed $(datetimeMla).

IEEE style:

D. Harper. “Etymology of rebellious.” Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/rebellious (accessed $(datetime)).

Definitions of rebellious

rebellious (adj.)

resisting control or authority;

a rebellious crew

temperamentally rebellious

rebellious (adj.)

discontented as toward authority;

Synonyms: disaffected / ill-affected / malcontent

rebellious (adj.)

participating in organized resistance to a constituted government;

From wordnet.princeton.edu

Dictionary entries near rebellious

rebec

Rebecca

rebegin

rebel

rebellion

rebellious

rebirth

reboot

rebop

reborn

reborrow