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

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

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

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

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

It seemed a sure thing a few weeks ago that Abdul El-Sayed, the insurgent progressive challenger in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, was leading the race going away.

From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2026

Marine Le Pen of the insurgent right National Rally is leading in the latest polls for next year’s presidential elections.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

While Jack was on leave taking care of Sophie, Hoagland told me how Jack had been abducted in Cyprus by a red insurgent faction in sixty-four.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

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

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

Their use shows how lessons from the war in Ukraine are reverberating on distant fronts such as Pakistan, where security forces are improvising new defences against Islamist insurgents armed with the cheap, easily obtainable devices.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

Thanat, who is also National Intelligence Agency director, said insurgents were also testing the readiness of security forces.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

He was among thousands of insurgents who surrendered in late 2001 as a US-led coalition ousted the group.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

In the next hour a few ministers and political leaders arrived, and telephone negotiations with the insurgents were begun in order to gauge the magnitude of the insurrection and to find a peaceful settlement.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

Related Words

• demonstrator
• mutineer
• radical
• revolutionary
• rioter