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
Joe Reid, Vulture, 24 Feb. 2025
Disney has watched Universal’s insurgency with a clenched jaw.
—Brooks Barnes, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025
Terrorism and insurgency aren't existential risks, but why on Earth would Washington want to invite them over a conflict not of its making?
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Feb. 2025
But the backlash potential among Gaza’s civilian population, in what was surely imagined as a years-long insurgency, must have been obvious.
—Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 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 19 Mar. 2025.
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insurgency
noun
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