insurgent
pronunciation
How to pronounce insurgent in British English:
UK [ɪnˈsɜ:dʒənt]
How to pronounce insurgent in American English:
US [ɪnˈsɜrdʒənt]
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- Noun:
- a person who takes part in an armed rebellion against the constituted authority (especially in the hope of improving conditions)
- a member of an irregular armed force that fights a stronger force by sabotage and harassment
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- Adjective:
- in opposition to a civil authority or government
Word Origin
- insurgent
- insurgent: [18] An insurgent is etymologically someone who ‘rises up’. The word comes from the Latin verb insurgere, which was formed from in- in the sense ‘against’ and surgere ‘rise’ (source of English surge and source). An insurgent is hence fairly straightforwardly a rebel, someone taking part in an uprising, a belligerent who is not part of an officially recognized fighting force.Choice of vocabulary in this area tends to be controversial, however, and the use of insurgent to denote Iraqi irredentists after the Coalition invasion of 2003 was widely criticized – partly, perhaps, from the misconception that they were being characterized as ‘surging in’ from outside the country. The longer established insurrection [15], from the same ultimate source, is much less liable to such misunderstanding.=> resource, resurrection, source, surge
- insurgent (n.)
- "one who rises in revolt," 1765, from Latin insurgentem (nominative insurgens), present participle of insurgere "rise up, rise against, revolt," from in- "against," or perhaps merely intensive, + surgere "to rise" (see surge). An obsolete verb insurge "to rise in opposition or insurrection" is attested from 1530s.
Synonym
Example
- 1. That 's the heart of insurgent territory .
- 2. So insurgent communists in poor , largely rural countries such as india , nepal and peru are naturally inclined to style themselves maoists .
- 3. As long as this constitution is in place , genuine political reconciliation at the centre , let alone with myanmar 's myriad ethnic insurgent groups , is hard .
- 4. Insurgent attacks on coalition forces in iraq and afghanistan have also proved unpredictable , with weeks or even months between one burst of deadly fighting and the next .
- 5. Though the insurgent groups are small , poorly armed and not united , their knowledge of the mountainous terrain has helped them to take over eight alawite villages .