insurgency
Americannoun
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the state or condition of being insurgent.
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insurrection against an existing government, usually one's own, by a group not recognized as having the status of a belligerent.
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rebellion within a group, as by members against leaders.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of insurgency
First recorded in 1795–1805; insurg(ent) + -ency
Explanation
An insurgency is a movement within a country dedicated to overthrowing the government. An insurgency is a rebellion. Insurgencies are movements to overthrow governments. The United States was founded by an insurgency, when the colonies fought England for independence. In the Star Wars movies, the rebel forces stage an insurgency. Around the world, many insurgencies exist, using violent and other means. Insurgency is also used for less serious situations: for example, a rebellious group within a company, political party, or school could be called an insurgency. All insurgencies are made up of rebels.
Vocabulary lists containing insurgency
The Middle East and Central Asia - Middle School
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The Middle East and Central Asia - High School
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"On the Vietnam War, 1967," Vocabulary from the speech
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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.
The list of great bands I’m told to listen to is endless – Live Burial, Wytch Hazel, Insurgency, De Profundis, Eliminator – while Crypt of the Wizard appears to be burgeoning.
From The Guardian • Nov. 7, 2017
“This is a repeated myth that has no basis in truth,” said James R. Arnold, the author of “Moro War: How America Battled a Muslim Insurgency in the Philippine Jungle, 1902-1913.”
From New York Times • Aug. 17, 2017
Ioan Grillo, author of El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency, has thought about this as much as anyone.
From Slate • Dec. 30, 2013
Charles Lister, an analyst at IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre, also said it made little sense for the Syrian government to use chemical agents now.
From Reuters • Aug. 21, 2013
"Godinq on our Moravian side of the Border, and then Skalitz on their Hungarian, being thus finished, we make for Ungarisch-Brod," the next nucleus of Insurgency.
From History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 13 by Carlyle, Thomas
Definitions 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.
