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
Democrats have also seen incumbent leaders backed by the establishment taken down in their primaries by an insurgent socialist movement. — Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 7 Aug. 2026 Tuesday’s primaries refused to settle into one of the storylines written in the weeks after Colorado’s primaries, where insurgents in both parties wildly overperformed. — David Weigel, semafor.com, 5 Aug. 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
  • Those observations are hardly revolutionary in the private sector.
    — Bethany Mandel, The Washington Examiner, 16 Aug. 2026
  • While the White House hoped to remove Díaz-Canel and the Castro family from power, the push has been complicated by the lack of a credible opposition since revolutionary brothers Fidel and Raúl overthrew the island’s military dictatorship in 1959.
    — Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of revolutionary
Noun
  • Ahmed al-Sharaa, the former rebel commander who has served as Syria’s President since 2025, has been outward looking since taking power.
    — Paula Hancocks, CNN Money, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Dozens of rebel and militia groups operate across eastern Congo.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of rebel
Adjective
  • While many may remember Cooter as a gregarious good ‘ol boy, the character had a wild, rebellious side in the first season of the show.
    — Tom Tapp, Deadline, 9 Aug. 2026
  • In a somewhat rebellious moment, Meghan attended her first Trooping the Colour ceremony wearing an off-the-shoulder Carolina Herrera dress.
    — Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 4 Aug. 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
  • The people who joined were not there at the behest of a political organization but were drawn, like pilgrims to hip pilgrimage sites, by the promise of an insurrectionary pleasure.
    — Asim Ali, Time, 1 Aug. 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
  • When planning paths and features, follow the contour of the slope rather than going straight up and down to slow water and create less treacherous access.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The Hand of the Queen will have a treacherous road ahead, especially with the increasingly dictatorial Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy), who was in no big rush to save Corlys from Ormund's clutches.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of treacherous
Adjective
  • The 1990s were a period of instability across the country, including in Goma, which saw periods of widespread looting that started with mutinous security forces and during which soldiers terrorized the population.
    — Chinatsu Tsuji, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 July 2026
  • France at a World Cup tends to carry a certain kind of expectation, elegance under pressure, brilliance available on demand, and the constant possibility that everything will suddenly become either sublime or mutinous.
    — Kate Hardcastle, Forbes.com, 10 June 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 17 Aug. 2026.

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