insurgent Definition
in·sur·gent (in sʉr′jənt)
adjective
rising up against established authority; rebellious; specif.,
- designating or of a revolt or rebellion not well enough organized to be recognized in international law as belligerency
- designating or of a faction in revolt against the leadership of a political party
Etymology: L insurgens, prp. of insurgere, to rise up (against) < in-, in, upon + surgere, to rise: see surge
noun
a person engaged in insurgent activity
insurgent Related Forms
in·sur′·gently adverb
insurgent Synonyms
insurgent Synonyms
insurgent Usage Examples
Converse of subject
kill: An Iraqi policeman holds aloft the body of a child killed by insurgents in the Shia holy city of Najaf.
Converse of object
- defeat: How are some ways that you are measuring progress in defeating insurgents in Iraq?
- kill: In Iraq, our forces try to kill insurgents who mainly want our forces to leave.
- fight: Amputees have star roles in war games, like densely plotted, big-budget movie Army fights insurgents in fictitious town.
- capture: In terms of capturing insurgents the figures are less convincing.
- arm: The Ministry of Defense said the patrol came under attack from insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades and a heavy machine gun.
- say: He also said the insurgents have failed to " force a mass withdrawal by our allies.
Adjective modifier
- Maoist: Soldiers were everywhere, guarding the approaches to Everest, one of the few parts of Nepal not yet subject to the Maoist insurgents.
- suspected: South of Baghdad, US and Iraqi forces launched raids killing 17 suspected insurgents and arresting 32 suspects.
- Iraqi: Actions of violence include the capture of seven Iraqi soldiers by Iraqi insurgents, near Baghdad on Thursday.
- Kurdish: This was part of a series of measures undertaken by Iraq to punish Kurdish insurgents for allying with Iran during the war.
- Islamic: Last spring Islamic insurgents from Afghanistan battled with Kyrgyz security forces, and President Askar Akayev warned of worse to come this year.
- communist: These figures include an estimated 40,000 deaths in the conflict with communist insurgents between 1972 and 1994.
Modifies a noun
- stronghold: The violence across Iraq, in the last week, is apparently in response to the assault on the insurgent stronghold, Fallujah.
- fighter: The U.S. military says coalition forces in Afghanistan killed an estimated 15 insurgent fighters in a night-time clash.
- attack: During 2001 a major expansion was initiated to meet the threat from ethnic Albanian insurgent attacks in the north of the country.
- army: Henry VII himself had to take the field at Blackheath, Kent, where the Cornish insurgent army arrived in June.
- violence: In London for talks on Iran, the US Secretary of State said the result could reduce insurgent violence.
- threat: The over six million Iraqis who went out to vote in 2004, despite insurgent threats attest to this fact.
Noun used with modifier
islamist: A new development is the emergence of home-grown Islamist insurgents.
Browse dictionary entries near insurgent
- ‹ insurgency
- ‹ insurgence
- ‹ insurer
- ‹ insured
- ‹ insure
- ‹ insurance broker
- ‹ insurance agent
- ‹ insurance
- ‹ insurable interest
- ‹ insurability
- insurmountable ›
- insurrection ›
- insurrectionary ›
- insusceptible ›
- int ›
- Int Rev ›
- intact ›
- intaglio ›
- intake ›
- intangible ›

