noun
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a revolt or rebellion
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archaic an ascent
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of uprising
Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; see origin at up-, rising
Explanation
An organized rebellion, especially against an authority or government — is an uprising. If your entire math class joined together in rebellion against your teacher's unfair grading practices, you could call it an uprising. The word uprising is most often used to describe a political revolt, often a violent insurrection against the established rule, but its original meaning was very different. In the thirteenth century, an uprising was a resurrection, or "the action of rising from the grave," and soon after that it meant "an action of rising from the bed." It wasn't until the late 1500's that it came to mean "revolt."
Vocabulary lists containing uprising
Born a Crime
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Stamped
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Catching Fire
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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 Islamic Republic was founded after an anti-Western uprising in 1979, and consolidated its rule through a subsequent eight-year war with Iraq.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 3, 2026
It was widely regarded as a deliberately provocative and inflammatory act and one of the sparks that lit the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, also known as the al-Aqsa intifada.
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026
“The carrot is extremely powerful and extremely important to them if they don’t want to face another January uprising in Iran,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 17, 2026
Without realizing it, Kevin O’Leary may have awakened a new political uprising in Utah—one that could come back to bite the very lawmakers he partnered with for his latest moneymaking venture.
From Slate • Jun. 1, 2026
Teleki’s association with the Hungarian uprising against Austrian rule in March 1848, a revolt that was crushed by Imperial armies and followed by a punitive policy of Germanisation, led to him being sentenced to death.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
