guerrilla

American  

[guh-ril-uh] / gəˈrɪl ə /

Or guerilla

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.

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adjective

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

   guerrilla strongholds;

   guerrilla tactics.

2. of or relating to an unauthorized, edgy, or disruptive version of an activity: guerilla gardening to beautify an abandoned lot.

   guerrilla filmmaking on a busy sidewalk;

   guerilla gardening to beautify an abandoned lot.

guerrilla British  

/ ɡəˈrɪlə /

noun

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

   2. ( as modifier )

      guerrilla warfare

2. 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

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Other Word Forms

• antiguerrilla noun
• counterguerrilla adjective
• guerrillaism noun

Etymology

Origin of guerrilla

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; war ¹, -elle

Example Sentences

In Kosovo, where former guerrilla leaders are still celebrated as heroes, the war crimes trial of ex-president Hashim Thaci and other senior commanders has reignited bitter debate over the legacy of the independence struggle.

From Barron's

And other groups made of renegade guerrillas who rejected a 2016 peace accord have 9,200 members.

From The Wall Street Journal

Colombia's armed forces are taking part in the search for the aircraft, which is in a region that has areas controlled by Colombia's ELN guerrilla group.

From BBC

The two countries became adversaries shortly after the Castro brothers descended from Cuba’s Sierra Maestra mountains with a bearded crew of guerrillas in 1959.

From The Wall Street Journal

His genial demeanour and penchant for folksy parables belie a past as a wily guerrilla fighter and ruthless political survivor.

From Barron's

Related Words

• commando
• mercenary
• terrorist