SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
insubordination
noun
Refusal to obey or acknowledge legitimate authority.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Defiance of authority
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topInsubordination concerns authority and obedience; constructive disagreement does not necessarily constitute it.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See insubordination in use
The review distinguished constructive criticism from insubordination.
An apprentice's insubordination in the novel begins when she refuses the legitimate instruction to return borrowed printing tools at the agreed time.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license