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guerrilla definition

guer·rilla (gə ril′ə)

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.
Also sp. guerilla gue·ril′la

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

guerrilla Synonyms

guerrilla

modif.

auxiliary, independent, irregular, underground, predatory; see also fighting.


guerrilla

n.

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


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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.

Adjective modifier

  • leftist: He initiated informal contacts with leftist guerrillas in neighboring Colombia.

Modifies a noun

  • warfare: He wrote a book on the guerrilla warfare, which had big impact on Latin America.

Noun used with modifier

  • islamist: Its government has battled Islamist guerrillas, some of whom were based in Afghanistan.
guerrilla usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

guerrilla quotes

We lost sight of one of the cardinal maxims of guerrilla war: the guerrilla wins if he does not lose. The conventional army loses if it does not win.

-Kissinger, HenryAlfred

Insurrectionöby means of guerrilla bandsöis the true method of warfare for all nations desirous of emancipating themselves from a foreign yoke.

-Mazzini, Giuseppe

guerrilla quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"guerrilla." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/guerrilla>

APA Style

guerrilla. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/guerrilla

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