Meanings
comparative more insubordinate · superlative most insubordinate
- Rebellious or defiant to authority; contumacious.
I remembered with confusion my insubordinate and stealthy conduct, and when I saw where it had brought me […] I felt ashamed to look him in the face.
1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC
present singular third person insubordinates · participle present insubordinating · participle past insubordinated · past insubordinated
- dialectalinformalintransitivenonstandardTo rebel or defy authority.
I think it's moral to insubordinate against a controlling boss.
Antonyms: subordinate, subjugate, obey
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo rebel or defy authority.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivenot submissive to authority
adjectivedisposed to or engaged in defiance of established authority
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchinsubordonné
- Englishinsubordinate
From in- + subordinate, on model of French insubordonné.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian недисциплиниран
- недисциплиниран (nediscipliniran)rebellious
Danish ulydig
- ulydigrebellious
Finnish tottelematon
- tottelematonrebellious
Hungarian fegyelemsértő, függelemsértő
- fegyelemsértőrebellious
- függelemsértőrebellious
- parancsmegtagadórebellious
- engedetlenrebellious
- ellenszegülőrebellious
Latin contumax
- contumaxrebellious
Māori whakakeke, whakatete
- whakakekerebellious
- whakateterebellious
Swedish uppstudsig
- uppstudsigrebellious
Cite this entry
insubordinate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/insubordinate
“insubordinate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/insubordinate. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “insubordinate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/insubordinate.
Source: insubordinate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.