CONTUMACY Synonyms: 64 Similar and Opposite Words

contumacy

noun

kən-ˈtü-mə-sē

Definition of contumacy

as in rebellion

refusal to obey a rogue archbishop who was excommunicated on grounds of contumacy

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for contumacy

Noun

Within 36 hours one of the prisoners had an apparent mental breakdown, and on the second day the inmates staged a rebellion.

— Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026
In their utopian reconstruction of a mythic past, the Agrarians’ polemics failed to mention the South’s legacies of slavery and rebellion.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of rebellion

Noun

This hint of connection between them is later made concrete when, at the demonstration, the two are complicit in an act of defiance — throwing a cobblestone at a policeman, badly injuring him — and must skip town for the night.

— Guy Lodge, Variety, 27 Oct. 2026
These behaviors can be signals of distress but may be mistaken for defiance.

— Jermaine F. Williams, Baltimore Sun, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of defiance

Noun

And from that boredom, a different kind of will, the willfulness that accompanies a need to destroy that happiness.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
From grandmother to grandchild, these three sets of two sisters were powerful characters possessed with passion, willfulness, bravery, and devotion to each other.

— Griffin Dunne, Vanity Fair, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of willfulness

Noun

But Havel’s vision went beyond private acts of disobedience and noncompliance.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
After federal prosecutors and defense attorneys had presented all their evidence Tuesday, Morrow’s attorneys asked Orso to dismiss the three petty charges accusing her of obstruction, disruption and disobedience.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of disobedience

Noun

That’s great news for Vanguart’s four cofounders, who established the company in 2018 with a wealth of experience, if not some serious horological rebelliousness.

— Rachel Ingram, Robb Report, 18 Oct. 2026
The stigma helped imprint a stamp of rebelliousness on the brand which lives on today, says Carpenter, even as Burton has become a fixture on resort slopes across the world and within the annals of Olympian history.

— Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of rebelliousness

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Browse Nearby Words

contumacious

contumacy

contumelious

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“Contumacy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contumacy. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of contumacy

noun

Example Sentences

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