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

The guerrilla group signed a peace treaty with Colombia’s government in 2016.

From The Wall Street Journal

Muslim nationalist groups such as the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for decades fought guerrilla wars for a degree of autonomy from the predominantly Christian Philippines.

From The Wall Street Journal

Petro campaigned on a promise to bring "total peace" to the South American country, which has for decades suffered from cartel and guerrilla violence.

From BBC

A Colombian army general and an intelligence chief were suspended on Thursday following allegations they leaked sensitive information to a guerrilla leader, the attorney general's office told AFP.

From Barron's

The Caracol report focuses on Diaz, a former guerrilla chief known by the alias Calarca who now leads a dissident armed group.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• commando
• mercenary
• terrorist