insurgent

American  

[in-sur-juhnt] / ɪnˈsɜr dʒənt /

noun

• insurgents
  plural

1. a person who rises in forcible opposition to lawful authority, especially a person who engages in armed resistance to a government or to the execution of its laws; rebel.

2. a member of a section of a political party that revolts against the methods or policies of the party.

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adjective

1. of or characteristic of an insurgent or insurgents.

   Synonyms:

   mutinous, revolutionary, rebellious

2. surging or rushing in.

   The insurgent waves battered the shore.

insurgent British  

/ ɪnˈsɜːdʒənt /

adjective

1. rebellious or in revolt, as against a government in power or the civil authorities

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noun

1. a person who takes part in an uprising or rebellion; insurrectionist

2. international law a person or group that rises in revolt against an established government or authority but whose conduct does not amount to belligerency

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• insurgency
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• insurgents
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of insurgent

1755–65; < Latin insurgent- (stem of insurgēns ) present participle of insurgere to get up, ascend, rebel. See in- ², surge, -ent

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Explanation

An insurgent is a rebel or a revolutionary, someone who takes up arms against the authorities. Insurgent is from the Latin word “insurgentem,” literally meaning “to rise against,” so think of an insurgent as a fighter who rises against the people in power. Often insurgents are considered terrorists because they use violence to intimidate people.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

insurgent insurgents

With much of the country also under the control of Islamist insurgent group Al-Shabaab, little progress has been made on organising elections beyond a few localised pockets.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Yet Raman managed to pull off a hard-fought campaign, with Pratt as an unexpectedly strong insurgent from the right — a winning streak that continued this week when she scored two key endorsements.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

“It also claimed that Bass had won support from a vast majority of voters who supported insurgent Republican Spencer Pratt in the primary election.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

One activist has dedicated herself to extracting them from insurgent groups, and bringing them to a refuge she has made in an old house in Mae Sot, where she tries to get them work experience.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

From time to time, Mammy showed her the old, crumpled newspaper clippings in it, and pamphlets that Ahmad had managed to collect from insurgent groups and resistance organizations headquartered in Pakistan.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini

Executives say operations in Mali’s gold-rich southwest largely sidestep disruptions related to insurgents, because supply chains for the mines come through Senegal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

Executives admit they have struggled to match the low production costs and development speed of the Chinese insurgents.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

He died from a fever in 1824 in Missolonghi, in modern day Greece, after joining Greek insurgents the year prior to fight a war of independence against the Ottoman Empire.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

On Saturday he tweeted his congratulations to four primary winners in New York City, including the three DSA insurgents, complete with their photographs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

A hands-off policy had backfired, the insurgents had gathered strength.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

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Related Words

• demonstrator
• mutineer
• radical
• revolutionary
• rioter

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