insurgency

noun

in·​sur·​gen·​cy in-ˈsər-jən(t)-sē How to pronounce insurgency (audio)
plural insurgencies
1
2
: the quality or state of being insurgent
specifically : a condition of revolt against a government that is less than an organized revolution and that is not recognized as belligerency

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Insurgencies fall into the category of "irregular warfare", since an insurgency normally lacks the organization of a revolution, even though it has the same aims. Revolutions often begin within a country's armed forces, whereas insurgencies often arise in remote areas, where they gain strength slowly by winning the confidence of rural populations. An insurgency may be based on ethnic or religious identity, or its roots may be basically political or economic. Since insurgencies are rarely strong enough to face a national army head-on, insurgents (often called guerrillas) tend to use such tactics as bombing, kidnapping, hostage taking, and hijacking.

Examples of insurgency in a Sentence

there always seems to be insurgency of some type in that troubled country
Recent Examples on the Web How climate change inflames extremist insurgency in Africa A second mass kidnapping took place Thursday hundreds of miles away in Kaduna State, according to local media reports, which said that at least 100 students were abducted from their school. Rachel Chason, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 Parts of Nigeria, a West African nation that is the most populous on the continent, are plagued by crime and violence, and the 15-year-old Boko Haram insurgency in the north continues. Ruth MacLean, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Picture instead the army officer corps that the tiny white elite empowered, during the Cold War, to crush Guatemala’s leftist insurgencies. Quico Toro, The Atlantic, 15 Feb. 2024 Hamas may already be transitioning to plan for an insurgency—the group is apparently attempting to rebuild a system of governance, with militants performing both administrative and policing functions throughout parts of Gaza. Colin P. Clarke, Foreign Affairs, 5 Feb. 2024 The buffer zone, built as part of Egypt's battle against an Islamic State group insurgency, was meant to prevent weapons smuggling to and from Gaza. Wafaa Shurafa and Bassem Mroue The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 18 Feb. 2024 Myanmar’s ruling military plans to call up young people for mandatory service starting in April and also require retired security personnel to serve, media reports cited a junta spokesman as saying, as the army struggles to crush an anti-junta insurgency. Reuters, NBC News, 14 Feb. 2024 When insurgents enjoy the external support of a state sponsor, as Hamas does with Iran, this often prolongs the insurgency because the sponsor is able to provide weapons, equipment, training, and intelligence to the groups fighting. Colin P. Clarke, Foreign Affairs, 5 Feb. 2024 That opened the doors to Iranian influence with Iraqi’s Shiite majority and the rise of Shiite militias — along with rival Sunni factions that formed their own insurgency, sometimes with ties to al-Qaeda. Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'insurgency.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1803, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of insurgency was in 1803

Dictionary Entries Near insurgency

Cite this Entry

“Insurgency.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/insurgency. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

insurgency

noun
in·​sur·​gen·​cy in-ˈsər-jən-sē How to pronounce insurgency (audio)
plural insurgencies

Legal Definition

insurgency

noun
in·​sur·​gen·​cy in-ˈsər-jən-sē How to pronounce insurgency (audio)
plural insurgencies
: the quality or state of being insurgent
specifically : a condition of revolt against a recognized government that does not reach the proportions of an organized revolutionary government and is not recognized as belligerency

More from Merriam-Webster on insurgency

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