insurgency
noun
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Insurgencies fall into the category of "irregular warfare", since an insurgency normally lacks the organization of a revolution, even though it has the same aims. Revolutions often begin within a country's armed forces, whereas insurgencies often arise in remote areas, where they gain strength slowly by winning the confidence of rural populations. An insurgency may be based on ethnic or religious identity, or its roots may be basically political or economic. Since insurgencies are rarely strong enough to face a national army head-on, insurgents (often called guerrillas) tend to use such tactics as bombing, kidnapping, hostage taking, and hijacking.
Synonyms
Examples of insurgency in a Sentence
Haley Strack, National Review, 28 Oct. 2023
There, opposition to the Maidan revolt sparked violent insurgency in the streets, but the local elites chose not to break with the Ukrainian government.
—Robert Hornsby, Foreign Affairs, 24 Oct. 2023
There were questions about the quality of Israeli intelligence gathering, normally a point of Israeli pride, and suggestions that the Israeli military — which has focused its recent activity on quelling an insurgency in the West Bank — had misdirected its energies.
—Isabel Kershner, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2023
The gas-rich southwestern Balochistan province at the border of Afghanistan and Iran has been the site of a low-level insurgency by Baloch nationalists for more than two decades.
—Abdul Sattar The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 30 Sep. 2023
Its quest to prevent future insurgencies often bleeds overseas.
—Aakash Hassan, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Sep. 2023
Nineteen-year-old Mohammad Yasir came to Pakistan during the Taliban insurgency in 2021.
—Hasan Ali, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Nov. 2023
But the main driver of this powerful insurgency is not an extremist ideology or religious belief, according to a U.N. study of 1,000 former fighters from eight countries.
—Declan Walsh, New York Times, 27 Oct. 2023
The onset of war this weekend sparked by Hamas attacks on Israel has largely shuttered Israel’s film and TV industry as the country grapples with the insurgency and a death toll that has surpassed 1,100.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 9 Oct. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'insurgency.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
1803, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Dictionary Entries Near insurgency
Cite this Entry
“Insurgency.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/insurgency. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.
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insurgency
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on insurgency
Nglish: Translation of insurgency for Spanish Speakers
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