guerrilla 1 of 2

noun

variants or guerilla
Definition of guerrillanext
as in soldier
a member of a usually small group of soldiers who do not belong to a regular army and who fight in a war as an independent unit The guerrillas controlled half the country.

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guerrilla

2 of 2

adjective

as in warlike

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of guerrilla
Noun
One breakthrough leading into that period of acclaim was Ferrer’s 1968 guerrilla action involving driving 87 bushels of fall leaves from Philadelphia to New York in a pickup truck, and scattering them in front of art institutions. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 30 Sep. 2026 In contrast, some discount the 1960s dates and consider the start to be 1972, when the ZANLA insurgency began a new, more intense level of guerrilla fighting. — Chinatsu Tsuji, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026
Adjective
Experts say ex-guerrilla fighters, who once occupied the most remote parts of Colombia’s jungles, forests, mountains, and savannas, are uniquely prepared to aid scientists with ongoing conservation efforts. — Lindsey McGinnis, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Aug. 2020 That was the year that social media really started to take off, which gave restaurants and bars this megaphone to kind of guerrilla market on their own. — BostonGlobe.com, 11 Sep. 2019 See All Example Sentences for guerrilla
Recent Examples of Synonyms for guerrilla
  1. soldier
  2. warlike
  3. partisan
  4. military
  5. marine
  6. combative
  7. paramilitary
  8. aggressive
Noun
  • The soldiers fired tear gas at the Palestinians, not the settlers, multiple witnesses said.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The program also aims to make the systems easier for soldiers to operate, potentially allowing units outside traditional air defence formations to employ laser weapons against incoming drones.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of soldier
Adjective
  • Macron says fires are warlike crisis for France Out-of-control wildfires represent France’s greatest crisis since World War II, President Emmanuel Macron said.
    — Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 29 July 2026
  • The poem that precedes it, the Iliad, is a cruel and beautiful work, the ultimate story of war; the Odyssey has its warlike passages, but its central energies seem almost commonplace beside the merciless fury of Achilles.
    — David Denby, New Yorker, 21 June 2026
Definition of warlike
Noun
  • In such seats, the primary becomes the real election, a dynamic that tends to favor the coronation of extremely polarizing nominees since, typically, that electorate is composed of committed partisans.
    — Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Republicans at the hearing sought to portray Smith as a partisan who abused his authority to target Republicans.
    — Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of partisan
Adjective
  • The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military details.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Beyond Fedorov, there is a lineup of active and former military officers who are seen as primed for leadership.
    — Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of military
Noun
  • Shortly after the 110 migrants were interdicted at sea on Wednesday by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force and Turks and Caicos Islands Regiment and Border Force, they were loaded on two police marine vessels for processing.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Brea Schmidt was promoted to CFO of Crowley, a global logistics, marine, and energy solutions company.
    — Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of marine
Adjective
  • The former state representative and senator from west-central Missouri took office as secretary of state in January 2025 and brought a more combative approach to overseeing elections and ballot measures.
    — Jeremy Kohler, ProPublica, 15 Oct. 2026
  • No other details were provided, and since that announcement, the CAC and its membership have found themselves on opposite sides of an increasingly combative divide.
    — Adam B. Vary, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of combative
Noun
  • The State Department has accused both Burhan’s Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, of failing to make serious commitments to an immediate truce.
    — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The volunteers would be an additional layer of security to the powerful Revolutionary Guard paramilitary and its all-volunteer arm, the Basij.
    — Nasser Karimi, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of paramilitary
Adjective
  • While Chelsea tend to retreat after taking the lead, their opponents also become more aggressive in response, committing extra bodies forward and helping to create more open, end-to-end encounters.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The acquisition comes after the distributor’s founder and then-CEO, Andrew Karpen, died from an aggressive form of brain cancer at the age of 59 in May 2025.
    — Brian Welk, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of aggressive

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Cite this Entry

“Guerrilla.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guerrilla. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on guerrilla

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about guerrilla

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