insurgent

American  

[in-sur-juhnt] / ɪnˈsɜr dʒənt /

noun

• insurgents
  plural

1. a person who rises in forcible opposition to lawful authority, especially a person who engages in armed resistance to a government or to the execution of its laws; rebel.

2. a member of a section of a political party that revolts against the methods or policies of the party.

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adjective

1. of or characteristic of an insurgent or insurgents.

   Synonyms:

   mutinous, revolutionary, rebellious

2. surging or rushing in.

   The insurgent waves battered the shore.

insurgent British  

/ ɪnˈsɜːdʒənt /

adjective

1. rebellious or in revolt, as against a government in power or the civil authorities

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noun

1. a person who takes part in an uprising or rebellion; insurrectionist

2. international law a person or group that rises in revolt against an established government or authority but whose conduct does not amount to belligerency

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• insurgency
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• insurgents
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of insurgent

1755–65; < Latin insurgent- (stem of insurgēns ) present participle of insurgere to get up, ascend, rebel. See in- ², surge, -ent

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Explanation

An insurgent is a rebel or a revolutionary, someone who takes up arms against the authorities. Insurgent is from the Latin word “insurgentem,” literally meaning “to rise against,” so think of an insurgent as a fighter who rises against the people in power. Often insurgents are considered terrorists because they use violence to intimidate people.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

insurgent insurgents

South Cotswolds MP Roz Savage criticised Sir Ed's leadership ahead of conference, urging the party to rediscover its "insurgent spirit" rather than being the "polite custodians of a system that leaves people feeling powerless".

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

Fabrizio Foschini, a researcher at the Afghanistan Analysts Network, said during earlier decades of war "mining mainly benefited insurgent groups, including the Taliban, and local strongmen with links to corrupt government officials".

From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026

It seemed a sure thing a few weeks ago that Abdul El-Sayed, the insurgent progressive challenger in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, was leading the race going away.

From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2026

Marine Le Pen of the insurgent right National Rally is leading in the latest polls for next year’s presidential elections.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

From time to time, Mammy showed her the old, crumpled newspaper clippings in it, and pamphlets that Ahmad had managed to collect from insurgent groups and resistance organizations headquartered in Pakistan.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini

Executives admit they have struggled to match the low production costs and development speed of the Chinese insurgents.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

He died from a fever in 1824 in Missolonghi, in modern day Greece, after joining Greek insurgents the year prior to fight a war of independence against the Ottoman Empire.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Only the federal army has military drones in the country of 130 million people, and they have been deployed repeatedly against insurgents operating in several regions.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

Thanat, who is also National Intelligence Agency director, said insurgents were also testing the readiness of security forces.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

A hands-off policy had backfired, the insurgents had gathered strength.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

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Related Words

• demonstrator
• mutineer
• radical
• revolutionary
• rioter

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