rebel

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun

n. someone who does not follow the usual rules of society or their family.

n. a person who resists conventional social expectations or authority figures, often as a matter of personal identity.

“He was a bit of a rebel in high school and always wore clothes that broke the dress code.”

“The artist was celebrated as a rebel who challenged the rigid aesthetic standards of the nineteenth-century academy.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate

v. to refuse to obey rules or to fight against those in power.

v. to rise in opposition or show defiance toward an authority, established government, or social convention.

“Teenagers often rebel against their parents as they try to become independent.”

“The provincial governors began to rebel against the central administration when the new tax laws were enforced without consultation.”

C1 · Advanced Countable noun American English · Archaic

n. a soldier who fought for the South during the American Civil War.

n. a supporter or soldier of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.

“The old history book told stories of the rebels and the union soldiers.”

“The museum houses a collection of letters written by a young rebel stationed in Virginia during the final months of the conflict.”