insurgent

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A person who takes part in organized armed resistance against a government or ruling authority.

   Grammar: Countable: an insurgent, many insurgents. Often found in news about conflicts.

   Patterns

   • insurgents in somewhere
   • insurgents against something

   Insurgents attacked the army base at night.

   The government has offered talks with the insurgents.

   Many insurgents hid in the mountains and moved only after dark.

2. 2adjectivebefore a noun

   Rising in revolt against a government, or involved in such a rebellion.

   Grammar: Comes before a noun: insurgent forces, an insurgent movement.

   Patterns

   • insurgent forces/groups/movement

   Insurgent forces captured the town last week.

   The government struggled to control the insurgent movement in the south.

   Insurgent groups used roadside bombs against the convoy.

3. 3nouncountableAmerican

   A member of a political party who opposes the party's leaders or official position from within.

   Grammar: Used mainly in politics, especially in American English.

   Patterns

   • an insurgent within a party

   The insurgents in the party challenged the leadership's budget plan.

   A group of party insurgents voted against the bill.

   She ran as an insurgent candidate against the party establishment.

Word forms

Common combinations

insurgent group

An insurgent group claimed responsibility for the attack.

insurgent forces

Insurgent forces took control of the border town.

insurgent attack

An insurgent attack damaged the main road.

fight insurgents

The army was sent to fight insurgents in the north.

insurgent leader

The insurgent leader called for a ceasefire.

Synonyms and how they differ

rebel

Rebel is the general word for someone who resists authority and is not necessarily armed, while insurgent usually implies organized fighting.

guerrilla

Guerrilla names a fighter using small, mobile attacks, and is a description of tactics, while insurgent describes the political aim.

revolutionary

Revolutionary suggests a goal of overthrowing the whole system, which an insurgent does not always aim for.

militant

Militant describes an aggressive supporter of a cause and need not be fighting a government.

Opposites

Word family

insurgency noun

an organized armed uprising

insurgence noun

an uprising; less common than insurgency

counterinsurgency noun

military action against insurgents

insurrection noun

a violent uprising against authority

Commonly confused: insurgent or insurgence? insurgent or resurgent?

Practice

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