as in rebels
a person who rises up against authority
the government subjected the insurgents to the most inhuman torture imaginable
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Recent Examples of insurgents
Those efforts, combined with security operations against both Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias, weakened al-Qaeda between 2007 and 2009, allowing al-Maliki to consolidate power.
—
Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 28 Jan. 2026
Israel — home to more Holocaust survivors than any other country — marks its remembrance day, Yom HaShoah, on the anniversary of the April 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, emphasizing the heroism of the Jewish insurgents who resisted the Nazi terror.
—Vanessa Gera, Chicago Tribune, 27 Jan. 2026
Even that 2016 victory didn’t last long — Assad was unceremoniously forced out of the country by insurgents in 2024, settling in Moscow for a quiet life in exile.
—Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 18 Jan. 2026
In the eighties, Petro was a member of the M-19, urban insurgents who caught the world’s attention by taking the American Ambassador and more than a dozen other foreign diplomats hostage for two months.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2026
Syria’s al-Assad went down after Israel gutted Lebanese Hezbollah, following which Turkish aided and directed insurgents representing a minority of the country marched into Damascus.
—Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 4 Jan. 2026
The failing economy would accomplish what [Cowley] and his fellow literary insurgents had been unable to.
—Vince Passaro, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
India alleged insurgents were allowed to use Bangladesh’s soil to destabilize India’s northeastern states under Zia, especially during her second term from 2001-2006.
—CNN Money, 30 Dec. 2025
But Adamu questioned whether the strikes would do much to counter the insurgents, noting that the particular village hit was not previously known for harbouring militants.
—Reuters, NBC news, 26 Dec. 2025
Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 28 Jan. 2026
Israel — home to more Holocaust survivors than any other country — marks its remembrance day, Yom HaShoah, on the anniversary of the April 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, emphasizing the heroism of the Jewish insurgents who resisted the Nazi terror.
—Vanessa Gera, Chicago Tribune, 27 Jan. 2026
Even that 2016 victory didn’t last long — Assad was unceremoniously forced out of the country by insurgents in 2024, settling in Moscow for a quiet life in exile.
—Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 18 Jan. 2026
In the eighties, Petro was a member of the M-19, urban insurgents who caught the world’s attention by taking the American Ambassador and more than a dozen other foreign diplomats hostage for two months.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2026
Syria’s al-Assad went down after Israel gutted Lebanese Hezbollah, following which Turkish aided and directed insurgents representing a minority of the country marched into Damascus.
—Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 4 Jan. 2026
The failing economy would accomplish what [Cowley] and his fellow literary insurgents had been unable to.
—Vince Passaro, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
India alleged insurgents were allowed to use Bangladesh’s soil to destabilize India’s northeastern states under Zia, especially during her second term from 2001-2006.
—CNN Money, 30 Dec. 2025
But Adamu questioned whether the strikes would do much to counter the insurgents, noting that the particular village hit was not previously known for harbouring militants.
—Reuters, NBC news, 26 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insurgents
Noun
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Meanwhile, rebels in 2024 overthrew Syria’s Bashar Assad after a yearslong, bloody war in which Iran backed his rule.—
Jon Gambrell,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
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The Season 2 finale of Percy Jackson and the Olympians saw Percy (Walker Scobell), Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries), Grover (Aryan Simhadri) mobilize the rest of the demigods against Luke (Charlie Bushnell) and his ragtag crew of rebels working to resurrect Kronos.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Quarters honoring national heroes from the abolitionist, suffragette and civil rights eras have been scrapped and will be replaced by the nation's early White pioneers and revolutionaries.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
27 Jan. 2026
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All three play key roles in the library scene—in which Walker’s revolutionaries, seeking justice for a racial atrocity, hold Morgan’s collection hostage—but none had visited the real thing, on Thirty-sixth Street.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Insurgents.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insurgents. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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