insurgency
noun
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Insurgencies fall into the category of "irregular warfare", since an insurgency normally lacks the organization of a revolution, even though it has the same aims. Revolutions often begin within a country's armed forces, whereas insurgencies often arise in remote areas, where they gain strength slowly by winning the confidence of rural populations. An insurgency may be based on ethnic or religious identity, or its roots may be basically political or economic. Since insurgencies are rarely strong enough to face a national army head-on, insurgents (often called guerrillas) tend to use such tactics as bombing, kidnapping, hostage taking, and hijacking.
Examples of insurgency in a Sentence
Rozina Ali, New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2025
These are the young men with whom we will be embedded for the next viscerally immersive 90 minutes in a real-time account of a 2006 mission in Ramadi, Iraq, as a U.S. sniper unit negotiates a hotbed of Al Qaeda insurgency.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Mar. 2025
The deal came after government forces and allied groups crushed an insurgency launched last week by gunmen loyal to Assad.
—arkansasonline.com, 14 Mar. 2025
The area has been engulfed in decades-long conflict between armed ethnic groups and the Burmese authorities, who are now fighting multiple insurgencies following the 2021 military coup and its violent crackdown on opposition forces.
—Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for insurgency
Cite this Entry
“Insurgency.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/insurgency. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
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insurgency
noun
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