tapping into streak

[alpacinou]

Hello,

I want to suggest a person was trying to use a person's "rebellious streak" to their advantage. Can I use "tap into"?

Does this work?

She was trying to tap into his rebellious streak to convince him to rebel against his family.

 

[Skrej]

Yes, it's okay, although a little bit repetitious.

 

[alpacinou]

Yes, it's okay

I love it when something I write turns out to be okay!

although a little bit repetitious.

How about now?

She was trying to tap into his rebellious streak to convince him to stand up to his family.

 

[Skrej]

That's fine as well. There's a slight difference between 'rebelling' and 'standing up to', though so the two versions don't carry exactly the same meaning.

In most cases though, that's probably a small enough difference to not really matter.

 

[alpacinou]

That's fine as well. There's a slight difference between 'rebelling' and 'standing up to', though so the two versions don't carry exactly the same meaning.

In most cases though, that's probably a small enough difference to not really matter.

Can I maybe use revolt? Is it too much in the context of talking about family?

She was trying to tap into his rebellious streak to convince him to revolt against his family.

Is there a word with the same meaning as "rebel" that I can use here?

 

[Tarheel]

Perhaps "defy" would work.