Khmer Rouge

American  

[kmair roozh, kuh-mair] / ˈkmɛər ˈruʒ, kəˈmɛər /

noun

plural

Khmers Rouges

1. a Cambodian guerrilla and rebel force and political opposition movement, originally Communist and Communist-backed.

2. a member or supporter of this force.

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Khmer Rouge British  

/ ruːʒ /

noun

1. the Kampuchean communist party, which seized power (1975) in a civil war: in exile since 1979, dispersed in 1999

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Khmer Rouge Cultural  

1. The communist movement in Kampuchea (Cambodia) in Southeast Asia. It came to power in 1975.

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Led by Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge, after it came to power, instituted one of the worst examples of genocide in world history. Estimates of the number of people killed under this regime vary from two million to four million.

Etymology

Origin of Khmer Rouge

< French Khmer (or Khmère ) rouge literally, red Khmer

Example Sentences

Thailand welcomed Cambodian war refugees to the border area after the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime fell in 1979.

From Barron's • Feb. 7, 2026

During a sabbatical, she covered the Khmer Rouge trials from Cambodia.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 1, 2026

But I was coming from a youth performing arts school where I was in a French play and then “A Cambodian Odyssey,” about the Khmer Rouge.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 30, 2025

He followed that with a 1990 documentary titled “Cambodia: The Betrayal,” which examined international complicity in the Khmer Rouge remaining a threat.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 31, 2023

The Khmer Rouge considers them uncorrupted model citizens for their new society.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung