guerrilla Hear it!

guerrilla Definition

guer·rilla (gə rilə)

noun

  1. Archaic warfare carried on by guerrillas
  2. any member of a small defensive force of irregular soldiers, usually volunteers, making surprise raids, esp. behind the lines of an invading enemy army

Etymology: Sp, dim. of guerra, war < Fr guerre or It guerra, both < Frank *werra: see war

adjective

  1. of or by guerrillas
  2. characteristic of guerrillas; undercover, clandestine, etc. or radical, subversive, etc.

guerrilla Synonyms

guerrilla

modif.

guerrilla Synonyms

guerrilla

n.

partisan, underground soldier, irregular, resistance fighter, member of the underground, member of the resistance, irregular soldier, saboteur, independent; see also soldier.

guerrilla Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • kill: It is costing the United States $ 400,000 to kill one guerrilla - enough to pay the annual income of 8,000 Vietnamese.
  • fight: Turkey fought Kurdish guerrillas for 15 years in the southeast of the nation.
  • join: General Lemnitzer called for the Brigade to join the guerrillas in the Escambray Mountains.
  • support: In addition it provides invaluable insights in how to train and support guerrillas in the field.
  • train: However, they also had to fight an enemy they could not see communist guerrillas trained by Mao.

Adjective modifier

  • leftist: He initiated informal contacts with leftist guerrillas in neighboring Colombia.
  • Kurdish: Turkey fought Kurdish guerrillas for 15 years in the southeast of the nation.
  • Colombian: It is alleged that Colombian guerrillas were involved in her kidnap last September.
  • communist: However, they also had to fight an enemy they could not see communist guerrillas trained by Mao.
  • Albanian: The disarming of ethnic Albanian guerrillas, no less essential to peace, will not be easy.

Modifies a noun

  • warfare: He wrote a book on the guerrilla warfare, which had big impact on Latin America.
  • fighter: Also " the guerrilla fighter will carry out his action in wild places of small population.
  • tactic: In the 19th century, peoples of the Balkans used guerrilla tactics to fight the Ottoman empire.
  • insurgency: Guerrilla insurgency was increasing in Britain's most profitable colony, Malaysia.
  • war: For more than ten years they waged a Marxist style guerrilla war against Rhodesia's racist regime, under Prime Minister Ian Smith.
  • army: Its guerrilla army has conducted the longest armed struggle in Kurdish history.

Noun used with modifier

  • islamist: Its government has battled Islamist guerrillas, some of whom were based in Afghanistan.
  • wing: The war on drugs is clearly focused on those areas where the left wing guerrilla movements are located.

Browse dictionary entries near guerrilla

  1. Guerrero
  2. Guernsey
  3. guerdon
  4. guenon
  5. Guelph
  6. guelderrose
  7. Guedalla, Philip
  8. Gudrun
  9. gudgeon
  10. guck
  1. guerrilla theater
  2. guess
  3. guess at
  4. guessing
  5. guesstimate
  6. guesswork
  7. guest
  8. guest of honor
  9. guest statute
  10. guest worker