insurrectionist

noun

Definition of insurrectionistnext
as in rebel
a person who rises up against authority a would-be insurrectionist with a plan to bomb the capitol

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of insurrectionist Thomas Hobbes took a very dim view of rebels and insurrectionists. — Austin Sarat, Fortune, 24 May 2026 The recipients will almost surely be insurrectionists and other allies. — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 19 May 2026 People's Liberation Army troops under Mao's control either ignored the violence or offered support to the insurrectionists while the country descended into lawlessness and retribution. — Arkansas Online, 22 Jan. 2026 Stephen Miller is now calling Minnesota protesters insurrectionists, while the January 6th mobs were considered peaceful protesters and tourists. — Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 21 Jan. 2026 The President and his advisers have called those opposing them in Minnesota radical lunatics, domestic terrorists, and outright insurrectionists. — Susan B. Glasser, New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2026 The guns stay on store shelves, insurrectionists get pardoned, and pundits keep telling leftists to stop talking about trans rights. — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025 Kinzinger goes on to say that when the insurrectionist is one of their own, the rules are different. — Tom Jurkowsky, Baltimore Sun, 11 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insurrectionist
  1. rebel
  2. insurgent
  3. revolutionary
Noun
  • The Saudis did not blame any party for the attacks, but Houthi rebels took credit earlier for the airport strikes.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Attacks by the Houthis, the Yemeni rebel group, on commercial shipping in the Red Sea over the last three years have pushed major carriers around the Cape of Good Hope, boosting traffic at ports along Africa’s southern and western coasts.
    — Jared Cohen, Foreign Affairs, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of rebel
Noun
  • They’re seen as oligarchs, as the people with wealth and power, controlling our lives—not as outsider insurgents.
    — Nicholas Lemann, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Others look further back to early and sporadic insurgent activity in 1964, before the UDI, or to 1965, the year of the UDI (November 11) itself.
    — Chinatsu Tsuji, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of insurgent
Noun
  • But unlike other Floridians of Cuban descent — including Secretary of State Marco Rubio — Valdes ended up defending Cuba’s socialist revolutionaries and officials who have killed, jailed, tortured, and censored numerous political enemies.
    — Hudson Crozier, The Washington Examiner, 9 Oct. 2026
  • State media claimed that revolutionaries had been trained by Israel and tied them, simultaneously, to the United States, Iran, Hamas, al-Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, and international NGOs.
    — Abdelrahman ElGendy, Time, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of revolutionary

Browse Nearby Words

insurrectionary
insurrectionist
insurrectionists
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Insurrectionist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insurrectionist. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All