insurgent 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of insurgentnext
as in revolutionary
taking part in a rebellion any insurgent soldiers will be dealt with harshly

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

insurgent

2 of 2

noun

in-ˈsər-jənt How to pronounce insurgent (audio)
as in rebel
a person who rises up against authority the government subjected the insurgents to the most inhuman torture imaginable

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 insurgent
Adjective
Spencer Pratt, once the villain of the 2000s MTV reality show The Hills and now an insurgent candidate in this year’s Los Angeles mayoral race, had a breakthrough moment in his first debate performance last Wednesday. — Miles Klee, Wired News, 15 May 2026 The Republican is seeking a sixth term of six years this fall in what is expected to be one of the nation’s most competitive Senate races against insurgent 41-year-old oysterman and veteran Graham Platner, a Democrat. — Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 7 May 2026
Noun
Ethiopia also accuses Eritrea of supporting insurgents and occupying Ethiopian territory, allegations the AP could not independently verify. — Khaled Kazziha, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2026 Rwanda has acknowledged defensive “security coordinationâ€� with the M23 insurgents, who have held large swaths of mineral-rich eastern DR Congo for more than a year. — Ruben Nyanguila, semafor.com, 14 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for insurgent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insurgent
  1. revolutionary
  2. rebel
  3. rebellious
  4. traitorous
  5. insurrectionary
  6. treacherous
  7. mutinous
Adjective
  • The popular versions include the striker’s face merged into photos of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, late Congolese dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and late Chinese communist revolutionary Mao Zedong.
    — Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 30 Oct. 2026
  • The international messaging has been reinforced by communist organizations that make no secret of their revolutionary objectives, using the dockworkers' campaign to advance a broader political struggle against capitalism.
    — Asra Q. Nomani, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of revolutionary
Noun
  • The attack comes as Colombia’s conservative government changes the nation’s security strategy and takes a more confrontational approach towards gangs and rebel groups.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026
  • The blast comes amid President Abelardo de la Espriella’s tougher security strategy, which includes ending rebel talks and renewing operations against gangs and armed groups.
    — Manuel Rueda, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of rebel
Adjective
  • The selection also features Dutch director Sabine Lubbe Bakker’s Premier Souffle, exploring whether a rebellious outsider can find her place in the world after years of isolation from her community.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Five years earlier my brother had gotten married, leaving me home alone without the buffers of his distracted affection, his big brotherly insouciance, his rebellious indifference to the emotional chasm widening between our parents.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of rebellious
Adjective
  • Telemachus’ lone contribution is killing Melanthius, the traitorous Ithacan farmhand, thus preventing him from continuing to arm the suitors.
    — Marlow Stern, Variety, 17 July 2026
  • And at the very center of Hell is Satan himself, the traitorous Archangel Lucifer, depicted as a monstrous creature with wings and three heads.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 11 May 2026
Definition of traitorous
Adjective
  • Young protestors answered with an insurrectionary energy in the summer and soon found support from a broader coalition comprised of opposition parties, social movements and other pillars of Indian civil society.
    — Asim Ali, Time, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The Iranian regime was, if not on the ropes, then in very serious trouble as recently as January, when, amid a terrible economic situation with an eviscerated middle class, a large proportion of the population—disgruntled, unhappy, insurrectionary, revolutionary—came out to protest on the streets.
    — Daniel Drake, The New York Review of Books, 16 May 2026
Definition of insurrectionary
Adjective
  • Last month, the Coast Guard and Customs encountered several migrant ventures, some deadly, off the Dominican Republic and in the treacherous Mona Pass, between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico.
    — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Time is running out for a Republican Party led astray by a president whose treacherous behavior mimics those assigned to the lowest level of Dante’s hell.
    — Bob Kustra, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of treacherous
Adjective
  • Seven top clergypersons of the Armenian Apostolic Church, including the church head, Karekin II, have been charged with crimes related to the church’s refusal to restore a mutinous bishop.
    — Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Such mutinous talk only heightened conservative Justices’ sense that the barbarians were storming the gate.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of mutinous

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Cite this Entry

“Insurgent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insurgent. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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