counterinsurgency

noun coun·ter·in·sur·gen·cy \ ˌkau̇n-tər-in-ˈsər-jən(t)-sē \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of counterinsurgency

: organized military activity designed to combat insurgency

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counterinsurgent

play \ˌkau̇n-tər-in-ˈsər-jənt\ noun

See counterinsurgency defined for English-language learners

Examples of counterinsurgency in a Sentence

The military has launched a counterinsurgency.

Recent Examples of counterinsurgency from the Web

Social Welfare Minister Win Myat will be the first Myanmar cabinet minister to visit the camps since the refugee flow began in August last year in response to a brutal counterinsurgency campaign.

— Fox News, "Myanmar minister hopes to visit Rohingya in refugee camps," 5 Apr. 2018
In counterinsurgency and guerrilla warfare against enemies such as ISIS and the Taliban that difference isn’t such a big deal—the entire air assault force can just fly at the speed of the slowest aircraft.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The Marines Want The Swiss Army Knife of Drones," 19 Mar. 2018
As part of its sweeping counterinsurgency in Sinai, Egypt has blocked journalists from reporting in the peninsula.

— ishaan tharoor, Washington Post, "Israel’s growing ties with former Arab foes," 5 Feb. 2018
But the letters had come pouring in, threatening to reignite a debate on the morality of the war, the conduct of troops, the methods of counterinsurgency and the wide range of activities pointing toward an American invasion of Cambodia.

— jeff stein, Newsweek, "Did 'The Post' Get It Wrong? How the Cover-Up of a Green Beret Murder Led to the Pentagon Papers," 31 Jan. 2018
With that relatively light footprint, the United States cannot execute a counterinsurgency strategy to stabilize the country.

— nicholas grossman, National Review, "The U.S. Needs to Rethink What Winning in Afghanistan Looks Like," 7 Feb. 2018
Former agency officials assert that the military, with its vast resources and manpower, is better suited to conducting large-scale counterinsurgencies.

— james hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: The corrosion of support for First Amendment principles started before Trump. He’s supercharged it.," 23 Oct. 2017
Since then, 21 million Filipinos have been living under martial law, while government troops undertake a counterinsurgency campaign involving urban airstrikes and ground assaults.

— jessica trisko darden, Washington Post, "The Philippines just extended martial law. How far will Duterte go to stop terrorism?," 14 Dec. 2017
When nine border guards were killed in a similar attack by Rohingya militants last October, Myanmar security forces responded with a deadly counterinsurgency campaign.

— michael holtz, The Christian Science Monitor, "On heels of reform report, Myanmar violence muddies prospects for Rohingya minority," 31 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'counterinsurgency.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.