intifada
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of intifada
1988; < Arabic intif āḍa literally, a shaking off, derivative of f āḍa to shake off
Explanation
An intifada is an organized rebellion against an authority. The word is most often used to talk about the two Palestinian intifadas against the Israeli government. Intifada is from the Arabic intafada, "to shake off." It was first used for a 1952 Iraqi uprising against that country's monarchy. A rebellion in 1987, in which Palestinians demonstrated against the Israeli government, attempting to "shake off" Israel’s presence in the West Bank and Gaza, is known as the First Intifada. It was followed by the Second Intifada in 2000, after a peace summit failed to end in agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.
Vocabulary lists containing intifada
The Middle East and Central Asia - Middle School
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The Middle East and Central Asia - High School
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Muslim Empires and the Middle East - High School
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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.
It would mean releasing high-profile figures such as Marwan Barghouti, whom Israel jailed over his role in the Palestinian uprising known as the Second Intifada in the early 2000s.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 6, 2025
He had been jailed by Israel for five years during the First Palestinian Intifada and detained by the Palestinian Authority in 1997 until the start of the Second Intifada in 2000.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2024
In 1991, during the First Intifada, I visited an Armenian tile shop in east Jerusalem.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 13, 2023
Meeting at the house of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, a Muslim cleric, they decided to issue a leaflet on Dec. 14 calling for resistance as the First Intifada, or uprising, against Israel erupted.
From Reuters • Oct. 13, 2023
Those were, of course, the very confrontations that had helped fuel the success of the First Intifada, creating the conditions for Oslo.
From Salon • Sep. 19, 2018
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.
