Re-bĕl'lion, n.
(re-bĕl'yun), n. [Fr. rébellion, Sp. rebellion, It. ribellione, Pr. & Lat. rebellio, from Lat. rebellare. See supra. Among the Romans rebellion was originally a revolt or open resistance to their government by nations that had been subdued in war. It was a renewed war.]
Sense 1. The act of rebelling; open and avowed renunciation of the authority of the government to which one owes allegiance; the taking of arms traitorously to resist the authority of lawful government; revolt; insurrection.
No sooner is the standard of rebellion displayed than men of desperate principles resort to it. Ames.
Sense 2. Open resistance to lawful authority.
Commission of rebellion (Eng. Law), a process of contempt issued on the non-appearance of a defendant;—now abolished. Wharton. Burrill.
Synonyms—Insurrection; sedition; revolt; mutiny; resistance; contumacy. See INSURRECTION.