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
In 2024, insurgents led by now-interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham marched to Damascus and removed Assad from power.
—
ABC News, 8 Apr. 2026
While serving a tour of duty outside the province of Kandahar in Afghanistan in August of 2011, he was ambushed by Taliban insurgents disguised in Afghan National Army uniforms.
—Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 Apr. 2026
To Alfredo De Avila, of the Oakland Center for Third World Organizing, the UFW’s claims that Communist insurgents are plotting against Chavez and his union highlight how far the UFW has fallen.
—Marcos Breton, Sacbee.com, 24 Mar. 2026
Bakri is more brittle in Farah Nabulsi’s The Teacher as Basem, a Palestinian teacher in the West Bank whose support for insurgents grows after his own son dies in prison and as Israeli settlers brutalize his neighborhood.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
When Sahelian countries tried to talk to their insurgents, France fiercely opposed it.
—Obi Anyadike, semafor.com, 23 Mar. 2026
That kind of chaos could easily spill over Iran’s borders, and not just by land; the Persian Gulf is narrow, and would not pose much of an obstacle to terrorists or insurgents who cross it in speedboats.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026
Paxton will counter that Texas runoffs often reward insurgents.
—Gromer Jeffers Jr, Dallas Morning News, 4 Mar. 2026
At least 169 people were killed after insurgents raided a village in a remote area of South Sudan, a local official said Monday.
—Arkansas Online, 3 Mar. 2026
ABC News, 8 Apr. 2026
While serving a tour of duty outside the province of Kandahar in Afghanistan in August of 2011, he was ambushed by Taliban insurgents disguised in Afghan National Army uniforms.
—Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 Apr. 2026
To Alfredo De Avila, of the Oakland Center for Third World Organizing, the UFW’s claims that Communist insurgents are plotting against Chavez and his union highlight how far the UFW has fallen.
—Marcos Breton, Sacbee.com, 24 Mar. 2026
Bakri is more brittle in Farah Nabulsi’s The Teacher as Basem, a Palestinian teacher in the West Bank whose support for insurgents grows after his own son dies in prison and as Israeli settlers brutalize his neighborhood.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
When Sahelian countries tried to talk to their insurgents, France fiercely opposed it.
—Obi Anyadike, semafor.com, 23 Mar. 2026
That kind of chaos could easily spill over Iran’s borders, and not just by land; the Persian Gulf is narrow, and would not pose much of an obstacle to terrorists or insurgents who cross it in speedboats.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026
Paxton will counter that Texas runoffs often reward insurgents.
—Gromer Jeffers Jr, Dallas Morning News, 4 Mar. 2026
At least 169 people were killed after insurgents raided a village in a remote area of South Sudan, a local official said Monday.
—Arkansas Online, 3 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insurgents
Noun
-
Eastern Congo has experienced some of its worst violence in years, with M23 rebels seizing large parts of North Kivu and advancing toward the regional capital, Goma, disrupting road links and border crossings.—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
13 Apr. 2026
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Border tensions fueling Congo’s crisis President Félix Tshisekedi’s major challenge is the armed conflict in eastern Congo, where the largest city, Goma, has been controlled by rebels since January 2025.—
Rodney Muhumuza,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
These works follow aging revolutionaries who have given up the fight after being forced into hiding or choosing to raise a family; some have simply grown tired of the struggle.—
Boris Kachka,
The Atlantic,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The idea that one generation could not determine the political future of the next was precisely what many revolutionaries, despite their internal differences, had fought against.—
Roxane Razavi,
The Conversation,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Insurgents.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insurgents. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
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