Isil
//ˈaɪsəl// name
name ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Proper Noun
- 1 Synonym of ISIS.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"As Commander-in-Chief, I’ve seen how the ideology that leads Boko Haram to kidnap schoolgirls, and leads ISIL to enslave and rape women is the same ideology that leads to instability, and violence, and terrorism."
Etymology
An acronym of one English translation of one of the group's Arabic-language names, الدَّوْلَة الْإِسْلَامِيَّة فِي الْعِرَاق وَالشَّام (ad-dawla l-ʔislāmiyya fī l-ʕirāq wa-š-šām, literally “the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant”). Compare ISIS, which translates الشَّام (aš-šām) as “Syria” rather than “the Levant”.
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.