Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Prone to or participating in a rebellion: synonym: insubordinate.
  • adjective Of, relating to, or characteristic of a rebel or rebellion.
  • adjective Characterized by or expressing resistance to or defiance of authority or convention.
  • adjective Resistant to treatment or adjustment.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Specifically, in metallurgy, difficult to reduce; requiring extra manipulation or extreme heat: said of ores from which it is difficult to separate the metal.
  • Acting as a rebel, or having the disposition of one; defying lawful authority; openly disobedient or insubordinate.
  • Pertaining to or characteristic of a rebel or rebellion; of rebel character, relation, or use.
  • Hard to treat or deal with; resisting effort or operation; refractory: applied to things.
  • Synonyms Insubordinate, disobedient. See insurgent, n., and insurrection.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Engaged in rebellion; disposed to rebel; of the nature of rebels or of rebellion; resisting government or lawful authority by force.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Showing rebellion.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective participating in organized resistance to a constituted government
  • adjective discontented as toward authority
  • adjective resisting control or authority

Etymologies

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