guerrilla

or gue·ril·la

[ guh-ril-uh ]
See synonyms for guerrilla on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a member of a band of irregular soldiers that uses guerrilla warfare, harassing the enemy by surprise raids, sabotaging communication and supply lines, etc.

adjective
  1. pertaining to such fighters or their technique of warfare: guerrilla strongholds;guerrilla tactics.

  2. of or relating to an unauthorized, edgy, or disruptive version of an activity: guerrilla filmmaking on a busy sidewalk;guerilla gardening to beautify an abandoned lot.

Origin of guerrilla

1
First recorded in 1800–10; from Spanish, diminutive of guerra “war” (of Germanic origin) + -illa diminutive suffix; originally in reference to the Spanish resistance against Napoleon; the name for the struggle erroneously taken as a personal noun; cf. war1, -elle

Other words from guerrilla

  • guer·ril·la·ism, noun
  • an·ti·guer·ril·la, noun, adjective
  • coun·ter·guer·ril·la, adjective

Words that may be confused with guerrilla

Words Nearby guerrilla

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use guerrilla in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for guerrilla

guerrilla

guerilla

/ (ɡəˈrɪlə) /


noun
    • a member of an irregular usually politically motivated armed force that combats stronger regular forces, such as the army or police

    • (as modifier): guerrilla warfare

  1. a form of vegetative spread in which the advance is from several individual rhizomes or stolons growing rapidly away from the centre, as in some clovers: Compare phalanx

Origin of guerrilla

1
C19: from Spanish, diminutive of guerra war

Derived forms of guerrilla

  • guerrillaism or guerillaism, noun

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