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Is insurgent a new word?
Insurgent is not a particularly novel coinage; it has been in use as both a noun and an adjective for well over 200 years. Appearances of the word began to spike in the early 21st century, however, due to a combination of factors (including the appearance of such combatants in conflicts and the desire among journalists to avoid words that might seem biased, such as terrorist or freedom fighter).
The definition of the noun, which includes the phrase “a rebel not recognized as a belligerent,” refers to a specific sense of belligerent: “belonging to or recognized as an organized military power protected by and subject to the laws of war.”
Synonyms
Examples of insurgent in a Sentence
Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
An insurgent league of heavily armed gangs is waging war on the city itself, seeking new territory and targeting police and state institutions.
—Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024
In its heyday, coinciding with a period of low interest rates, Vice was an insurgent empire that included a news website, an entertainment studio, an HBO series, a cable TV channel and an in-house marketing agency.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 23 Feb. 2024
What the king would not tolerate, Mr. Nxumalo said, were young activists acting like insurgents.
—John Eligon Joao Silva, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2024
Beijing’s struggle to broker a fresh cease-fire between the Three Brotherhood Alliance and the junta led an irate Naypyidaw to launch punitive aerial strikes against civilians and insurgents alike.
—Avinash Paliwal, Foreign Affairs, 24 Jan. 2024
The Taliban have mounted vigorous diplomatic efforts to court neighboring states, and in spite of serious tensions with Pakistan for supporting anti-Pakistan insurgents, several powers in the region have been willing to accommodate.
—Asfandyar Mir, Foreign Affairs, 14 Mar. 2024
Her early forays into elective politics failed because the one-time anti-war, Green Party member who backed insurgent presidential candidate Ralph Nader was seen as too liberal.
—Ronald J. Hansen, The Arizona Republic, 5 Mar. 2024
Since then, the trends have shown GOP momentum here as Trump used his four years as president to win over Cuban-American voters and shift his role from Republican insurgent to the undisputed leader of the Republican Party.
—Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2024
David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times, 11 Dec. 2023
The pivotal election is shaping up to be one of the most fractured in Taiwan’s democratic history as an insurgent third candidate party challenges a traditionally two-party system.
—Vic Chiang, Washington Post, 28 Nov. 2023
For the past two decades, Cornel West has traveled the nation’s political back roads, making provocative comments and acting as a surrogate for insurgent Democratic presidential contenders.
—Ken Thomas, WSJ, 5 Oct. 2023
In February 1980, former California Gov. Ronald Reagan, then an insurgent candidate from the party's ultraconservative wing, decided to pay for a debate in Nashua, New Hampshire.
—David Faris, The Week, 21 Aug. 2023
A number of the looks that have made Sofia Richie-Grainge an insurgent style icon came from Waller's sleuthing, including an Old Celine off-the-shoulder dress from the house's 2017 fall runway collection.
—Halie Lesavage, Harper's BAZAAR, 28 July 2023
As a guerrilla leader who helped raise an insurgent army from a bus stop outside JFK8, Mr. Smalls had been dazzlingly effective.
—Noam Scheiber, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2023
That could cause problems for Republicans, because insurgent candidates typically don’t win statewide or swing-district races.
—Dallas News, 9 Jan. 2023
In recent years, Tehran sought to play both sides of the Afghan civil war, supporting the Kabul government while also maintaining ties to the insurgent Taliban.
—Ian Talley, WSJ, 25 Aug. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'insurgent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Insurgent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/insurgent. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
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insurgent
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insurgent
1 of 2 noun
insurgent
2 of 2 adjective
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