guerilla
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Explanation
The word guerilla is another way to spell "guerrilla": a member of a small, loosely organized army that fights a larger, stronger force. If you're a guerilla, you confront enemies unexpectedly and use tactics such as sabotage, raids, and ambushes. A guerilla is not a member of a state-sponsored army. Instead he or she is part of a smaller, independent army that fights a larger, more established force by using tactics that include the element of surprise. Also known as an insurgent or irregular, a guerilla usually exists outside mainstream society and typically has taken a position of active revolt or rebellion against the established ruling power.
Vocabulary lists containing guerilla
South America - Middle School
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Africa - Middle School
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Prince (1958-2016) Tribute List
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Kosovo's former president Hashim Thaci, sentenced to 25 years in prison Wednesday for war crimes, has long been seen within the Balkan country as a guerilla hero and symbol of its bloody independence struggle.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
Smita Dahal, granddaughter of a three-time prime minister and former Maoist guerilla leader, who was criticised for showing off her expensive handbag collection, has her Instagram account set to private.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026
There’s inspiration too in guerilla gardening, cultivating vegetables or flowers on land not owned by gardeners.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2025
In “Guitar World,” Sinclair described “the crazed guerilla warfare we were waging with the MC5.”
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 2, 2024
Che had served as a military adviser to Fidel Castro when Castro and his guerilla army overthrew Cuba’s former president, Fulgencio Batista, in the 1950s.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
