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.
Shinsegae chairman Chung Yong-jin bowed in apology over the incident during the Tuesday news briefing and asked for forgiveness from bereaved families of the victims of the May 18 Democratic Uprising.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
Holocaust Memorial Museum had used the term in translating a text about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025
Recent estimates by Poland's Warsaw Uprising Museum suggest up to 12,000 women took part.
From BBC • Aug. 3, 2024
It’s June and Pride Month is in full swing as LGBTQ+ communities around the world celebrate together as well as commemorate the Stonewall Uprising in New York City in 1969.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2024
John Smith and the Settlement of Jamestown, 42 V. Nathaniel Bacon and the Uprising of the People in Virginia in 1676, 55 VI.
From American Leaders and Heroes A preliminary text-book in United States History by Gordy, Wilbur Fisk
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.
