insurgency

noun

in·​sur·​gen·​cy in-ˈsər-jən(t)-sē 

plural insurgencies

1

: insurgence

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.

Synonyms

• insurgence
• insurrection
• mutiny
• outbreak
• rebellion
• revolt
• revolution
• rising
• uprising

Examples of insurgency in a Sentence

there always seems to be insurgency of some type in that troubled country

Recent Examples on the Web

There is also a risk that Assad loyalists or extremist elements of the Alawite minority sect to which the Assad family belonged will start an insurgency. —Gregory D. Koblentz, Foreign Affairs, 19 Dec. 2024

If, instead, this Israeli government insists on ethnically cleansing Gaza (and the West Bank), a long-term Palestinian insurgency will bubble up from the ruins, built from angry young men. —Trudy Rubin, Twin Cities, 18 Dec. 2024

Joyful crowds gathered in squares in Damascus, waving the Syrian revolutionary flag in scenes that recalled the early days of the Arab Spring uprising, before a brutal crackdown and the rise of an insurgency plunged the country into a nearly 14-year civil war. —Abdulrahman Shaheen and Abby Sewell, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Dec. 2024

During Friday prayers in Gaza in early 2012, late Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh extolled open support for the insurgency. —Jason Fields, Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1803, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

insurgency

noun

in·​sur·​gen·​cy in-ˈsər-jən-sē 

plural insurgencies

: rebellion sense 2

Legal Definition

insurgency

noun

in·​sur·​gen·​cy in-ˈsər-jən-sē 

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