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

He backed a bevy of insurgent primary bids by DSA-aligned candidates like New York’s Darializa Avila Chevalier and Colorado’s Melat Kiros—both of whom would go on to win.

From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026

Most lie in areas contested by ethnic insurgent armies.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

Oracle will be watched for signals on the artificial-intelligence build-out, while Adobe will likely be viewed through the lens of software’s resilience to insurgent AI.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Yet Raman managed to pull off a hard-fought campaign, with Pratt as an unexpectedly strong insurgent from the right — a winning streak that continued this week when she scored two key endorsements.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

While Jack was on leave taking care of Sophie, Hoagland told me how Jack had been abducted in Cyprus by a red insurgent faction in sixty-four.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

Executives say operations in Mali’s gold-rich southwest largely sidestep disruptions related to insurgents, because supply chains for the mines come through Senegal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

Munira Mustaffa, a Malaysia-based counterterrorism and extremism expert, said they were "frustrated signalling" by insurgents intended to "get the government to return to the table".

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

In his fiery maiden speech - addressing troops at a nearby military base - de la Espriella pledged to crush armed insurgents, rebuild Colombia and defend democracy "by reason or by force".

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

"The Christians we're hearing in Washington don't reflect the Jesus of the Gospels," one of the insurgents, Adam Hamilton, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026

Arthur called off the hunt, judged accurately that the insurgents were demoralized, and allowed his men to sleep in comfort on their arms, with few but careful sentries.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

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Related Words

• demonstrator
• mutineer
• radical
• revolutionary
• rioter

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