counterinsurgency

noun

coun·​ter·​in·​sur·​gen·​cy ˌkau̇n-tər-in-ˈsər-jən(t)-sē How to pronounce counterinsurgency (audio)
: organized military activity designed to combat insurgency
counterinsurgent noun

Examples of counterinsurgency in a Sentence

The military has launched a counterinsurgency.
Recent Examples on the Web Israel will have to deploy military strategies drawn from long-war paradigms alongside a multiyear counterinsurgency campaign that also leverages diplomatic, informational, and economic tools. Assaf Orion, Foreign Affairs, 3 Nov. 2023 The same was true of agents with the F.S.B. and the OMON, an intelligence and counterinsurgency agency, who took over the central administration building and courthouse. James Verini Paolo Pellegrin, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2023 Easy conquests ended in long, vicious counterinsurgency campaigns against local militias and radical Islamist fighters who knew the territory, who lived among the population and who did not obey the Geneva Convention or the rules of war. Steven Erlanger, New York Times, 24 Oct. 2023 That led to almost a decade of Sikh militancy and counterinsurgency operations, conducted by the Indian Armed Forces, which cost, on conservative estimates, around thirty thousand lives. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2023 Back in India, the aggressive counterinsurgency, as well as movement infighting, led most major militant factions to collapse by the mid-1990s, but the movement never actually died, says Mr. Singh. Aakash Hassan, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Sep. 2023 And in counterinsurgency operations, Indian security forces were accused of a multitude of human rights abuses. Rhea Mogul, CNN, 6 Oct. 2023 The exit from Niger, a centerpiece in Paris’s anti-terrorist activities, is an especially hard blow for France, whose counterinsurgency operations in the Sahel region are likely to weaken. Sarah Dadouch, Washington Post, 25 Sep. 2023 But there is also widespread fear, particularly since the period of counterinsurgency, of the Indian authorities using indiscriminate force to eliminate Sikh youth and also using the judicial and state processes arbitrarily. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'counterinsurgency.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of counterinsurgency was in 1962

Dictionary Entries Near counterinsurgency

Cite this Entry

“Counterinsurgency.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/counterinsurgency. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.

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