- rebellion
- rebellion, revolution, uprising, revolt, insurrection, mutiny, putsch, coup can all denote a war or an armed outbreak against a government or against powers in authority.Rebellion implies open, organized, and formidable armed resistance to constituted authority or to the government in power; the term is usually applied after the event to an instance of such resistance as has failed to overthrow the powers that be{
Jack Straw's Rebellion
}{the Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and 1745
}Revolution applies to a rebellion that has been successful to the extent that the old government is overthrown and a new one substituted{the French Revolution
}{the American Revolution
}The term, however, does not invariably imply a war or a warlike outbreak{effected a bloodless revolution by a coup d'etat
}The words are often applied to the same event according to the point of view of the user or sometimes according to the time in which it is used; thus, the American Civil War of 1861-1865 was called the "War of the Rebellion" by Northerners, not only during its progress but for a long time after; a revolution is often called a rebellion by the overthrown government or its supporters until bitterness has faded{the English Civil War (1642-1652) was, after the Restoration (1660), and still sometimes is, called the Great Rebellion
}Uprising is a somewhat general term applicable to an act of violence that indicates a popular desire to defy or overthrow the government; it is often used in reference to a small and ineffective movement that flares up suddenly and violently among an insurgent class or section of the people but it is applicable also to the first signs of a general or widespread rebellion{there was fear of uprisings in different parts of the country
}{whenever the whole nation should join together in one sudden and vigorous uprising— Freeman
}Revolt and insurrection apply to an armed uprising which does not attain the extent of a rebellion, either because it is quickly put down or is immediately effective.Revolt, however, carries a stronger suggestion of a refusal to accept conditions or continue in allegiance than does insurrection, which often suggests such a seditious act as an attempt to seize the governing power or to gain control for one's party{the Reformation . . . was no sudden revolt, but the culmination of a long agitation for national independence in religious matters— Inge
}{Baltazar's tyranny grew little by little, and the Acoma people were sometimes at the point of revolt— Cather
}{insurrections of base people are more furious in their beginnings— Bacon
}{excess of obedience is . . . as bad as insurrection— Meredith
}Mutiny applies chiefly to an insurrection against military or especially maritime or naval authority{the ship's master feared mutiny long before it occurred
}{the mutiny of a regiment made the situation desperate for the invaders
}Putsch may apply to a small popular uprising or demonstration, or a planned attempt to seize power{the Munich beer hall Putsch of Hitler's supporters in 1923
}Coup, in full coup d'etat, applies to a sudden overthrowing of a government by other than normal constitutional means; typically it implies careful planning on the part of a comparatively small opposition that usually has such backing from the military forces as insures the success of its effort, often without the need for bloodshed{General Naguib's coup, peaceful only because of the lack of resistance on the part of the faltering king . . . well illustrates the old definition of a dictator—one who receives a bankrupt country— Atyeo
}{it's not in our usual tradition of coups d'etat at all. Normally, nobody is killed in a coup d'etat. A certain amount of firing, yes, but over the heads of the crowds, just to show people they are serious— Rama Rau
}Czecho-slovakia was absorbed by a coup under the direct threat of nearby Russian military force— Isaacs)
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.
