To Go Against
To Oppose, To Be Contrary To
intransitive verb, godan verb
This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means opposite, so the verb version is to go against or to oppose.
逆らう refers to resisting natural or social forces, like 逆らって進む (to go against the tide), or to opposing specific people, like 親に逆らう (to defy one's parents). It means actively resisting something, whether it's a flow, a trend, or authority, highlighting a conscious choice to take a different path.
Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:
Just like when you play soccer (さか). You never play right, causing you to go against all things you're supposed to do and shoot goals into your own goalie's net.
お前、親に逆らうつもりか？
You're going against your parents?
やっぱり、誰も時代の流れに逆らうことはできないんだよ。
After all, no one can go against the current of the times.
フグは流れに逆らって川を上って行くサーモンに感動を覚えた。
Fugu was moved by Salmon who was swimming upstream against the river's flow.