Insurgent

//ɪnˈsəɹd͡ʒənt// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    One of several people who take up arms against the local state authority; a participant in insurgency.
  2. 2
    a member of an irregular armed force that fights a stronger force by sabotage and harassment wordnet
  3. 3
    a person who takes part in an armed rebellion against the constituted authority (especially in the hope of improving conditions) wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Rebellious, opposing authority. not-comparable

    "The insurgent provinces."

  2. 2
    Of water: surging or rushing in. not-comparable

    "Vesuvio groans through all his echoing caves, / And Etna thunders o'er the insurgent waves."

Adjective
  1. 1
    in opposition to a civil authority or government wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
subversiveagitatoranarchanarchistbrawlerbreakaway

Example

More examples

"Several insurgent flautists attacked our armored column with Jethro Tull covers and rocket propelled grenades."

Etymology

From Latin īnsurgentem, accusative singular of īnsurgēns, present active participle of īnsurgō (“I rise up against, revolt”), from in (“against”) + surgō (“I rise”), itself from sub (“up from below”) + regō (“I guide, direct, rule, govern, administer”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to move in a straight line, to rule, guide, lead straight, put right”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.