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

Did you know?

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

An insurgency in India during the 1980s and 1990s killed tens of thousands. —Fox News, 30 Oct. 2024

Kate Okorie Forced out by insurgency In 2014, the same year that the abduction of nearly 300 girls from a school in Chibok in northern Nigeria grabbed international headlines, Mary Musa and her family were displaced from their community in Borno state by the Boko Haram militant group. —Kate Okorie, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Oct. 2024

Over the next decade and a half, Landon served as Qaboos’s aide-de-camp, helping the sultan defeat the Communist insurgency then build one of the Middle East’s strongest military forces. —Shawn Tully, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2024

Alberto Fujimori, the once popular Peruvian president credited with rescuing his country from economic chaos and leftist insurgency but who was later disgraced and sentenced to prison on charges of human rights abuses, has died. —Chris Kraul, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 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