rebel

♦♦

rebels, rebelling, rebelled

(The noun is pronounced [[t]re̱bəl[/t]]. The verb is pronounced [[t]rɪbe̱l[/t]].)

1) N-COUNT: usu pl Rebels are people who are fighting against their own country's army in order to change the political system there.

...fighting between rebels and government forces.

...rebel forces in Liberia.

2) N-COUNT Politicians who oppose some of their own party's policies can be referred to as rebels.

The rebels want another 1% cut in interest rates.

...rebel MPs.

3) VERB If politicians rebel against one of their own party's policies, they show that they oppose it.

[V against n] More than forty Conservative MPs rebelled against the government and voted against the bill.

...MPs planning to rebel over the proposed welfare cuts...

4) N-COUNT You can say that someone is a rebel if you think that they behave differently from other people and have rejected the values of society or of their parents.

She had been a rebel at school.

5) VERB When someone rebels, they start to behave differently from other people and reject the values of society or of their parents.

The child who rebels is unlikely to be overlooked...

[V against n] I was very young and rebelling against everything.