Standard Lemma guide

insubordination

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -eɪʃən
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 N S AH0 B AO2 R D AH0 N EY1 SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The quality or state of being insubordinate; disobedience to lawful authority; specifically, an employee's failure or refusal to comply with a request or an assignment given by his/her supervisor.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

an insubordinate act

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: rebelliousness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: resistance

Narrower terms: contumacy, disobedience, noncompliance

3

noun

Meaning 3

defiance of authority

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: subordination

Broader terms: defiance, rebelliousness

History

Etymology

From in- + subordination, on the model of French insubordination.

Across languages

Translations

35 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: անհնազանդություն (anhnazandutʻyun) — quality of being insubordinate
  • Armenian: չենթարկվելը (čʻentʻarkvelə) — quality of being insubordinate
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不順從 /不顺从 (bú shùncóng) — quality of being insubordinate
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不服從 /不服从 (bú fúcóng) — quality of being insubordinate
  • Dutch: insubordinatie — quality of being insubordinate
  • Finnish: niskoittelu — quality of being insubordinate
  • Finnish: niskurointi — quality of being insubordinate
  • Finnish: tottelemattomuus — quality of being insubordinate
  • French: insubordination — quality of being insubordinate
  • German: Ungehorsamkeit — quality of being insubordinate
  • German: Befehlsverweigerung — quality of being insubordinate
  • German: Insubordination — quality of being insubordinate
  • Greek: ανυποταξία (anypotaxía) — quality of being insubordinate
  • Greek: απειθαρχία (apeitharchía) — quality of being insubordinate
  • Hungarian: parancsmegtagadás — quality of being insubordinate
  • Hungarian: fegyelemsértés — quality of being insubordinate
  • Hungarian: függelemsértés — quality of being insubordinate
  • Hungarian: engedetlenség — quality of being insubordinate
  • Hungarian: ellenszegülés — quality of being insubordinate
  • Irish: easumhlaíocht — quality of being insubordinate
  • Italian: insubordinazione — quality of being insubordinate
  • Japanese: 不服従 (fufukujū) — quality of being insubordinate
  • Macedonian: непослушност (neposlušnost) — quality of being insubordinate
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ulydighet — quality of being insubordinate
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ordrenekt — quality of being insubordinate
  • Persian: نافرمانی (nâ-farmâni) — quality of being insubordinate
  • Persian: سرکشی (sarkeši) — quality of being insubordinate
  • Portuguese: insubordinação — quality of being insubordinate
  • Russian: неподчине́ние (nepodčinénije) — quality of being insubordinate
  • Russian: неповинове́ние (nepovinovénije) — quality of being insubordinate
  • Russian: ослуша́ние (oslušánije) — quality of being insubordinate
  • Russian: непоко́рность (nepokórnostʹ) — quality of being insubordinate
  • Spanish: insubordinación — quality of being insubordinate
  • Swedish: olydnad — quality of being insubordinate
  • Swedish: uppstudsighet — quality of being insubordinate