guerrilla

or gue·ril·la

[ guh-ril-uh ]

noun

1. a member of a band of irregular soldiers that uses guerrilla warfare, harassing the enemy by surprise raids, sabotaging communication and supply lines, etc.

adjective

1. pertaining to such fighters or their technique of warfare: guerrilla tactics.

   guerrilla strongholds;

   guerrilla tactics.

2. of or relating to an unauthorized, edgy, or disruptive version of an activity: guerilla gardening to beautify an abandoned lot.

   guerrilla filmmaking on a busy sidewalk;

   guerilla gardening to beautify an abandoned lot.

guerrilla

/ ɡəˈrɪlə /

noun

1. 1. a member of an irregular usually politically motivated armed force that combats stronger regular forces, such as the army or police
   2. ( as modifier )

      guerrilla warfare

2. a form of vegetative spread in which the advance is from several individual rhizomes or stolons growing rapidly away from the centre, as in some clovers Compare phalanx

Derived Forms

• guerˈrillaism, noun

Other Words From

• guer·ril·la·ism noun
• an·ti·guer·ril·la noun adjective
• coun·ter·guer·ril·la adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of guerrilla¹

First recorded in 1800–10; from Spanish, diminutive of guerra “war” (of Germanic origin) + -illa diminutive suffix; originally in reference to the Spanish resistance against Napoleon; the name for the struggle erroneously taken as a personal noun; war ¹, -elle

Word History and Origins

Origin of guerrilla¹

C19: from Spanish, diminutive of guerra war

Example Sentences

A piece of guerrilla art appeared at Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park this week, underlining the park’s reputation as a center of drugs, addiction and despair.

From Los Angeles Times

For more than six years, there has been a guerrilla war in Cameroon between government forces and insurgents who want certain parts of the country to become an independent state.

From BBC

Most of Ireland ultimately became an independent state in 1922, after several years of bloody guerrilla warfare.

From Salon

In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon in what it described as a mission to root out Palestinian guerrillas.

From Los Angeles Times

For nearly 60 years, the guerrillas - also called Naxalites - have fought the Indian state to establish a communist society, the movement claiming at least 40,000 lives.

From BBC

Related Words

• commando
• mercenary
• terrorist