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 college he spent summers hitchhiking around South America, hiking to Machu Picchu and mostly ignoring warnings of guerrilla activity.

From The Wall Street Journal

A poster boasts of "61 years of struggle" featuring a famed guerrilla fighter.

From Barron's

Kosovo's former president and guerrilla leader Hashim Thaci called the war crimes charges against him "entirely untrue and utterly absurd" Wednesday on the final day of his marathon trial in The Hague.

From Barron's

Established by the country's parliament, the KSC investigates and prosecutes suspected war crimes committed by ethnic Albanian guerrillas during the war.

From Barron's

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

Related Words

• commando
• mercenary
• terrorist