guerrilla
1 of 2noun
guer·ril·la gə-ˈri-lə 
ge-,
g(y)i-
variants or guerilla
: a person who engages in irregular warfare especially as a member of an independent unit carrying out harassment and sabotage (see sabotage sense 2)
Guerrillas controlled half the country.
guerrilla
2 of 2adjective
: of, relating to, or suggestive of guerrillas especially in being aggressive, radical, or unconventional
guerrilla warfare
Example Sentences
Noun The guerrillas controlled half the country.
Recent Examples on the Web
Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Sep. 2022 Godard was ideologue, innovator, provocateur, cineaste (has anyone loved movies quite as much?), guerrilla chieftain, aphorist. Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Sep. 2022 Viewers are likely to be most engaged by a sequence where the journalists and filmmakers are detained at an airport in Zambia, prompting some guerrilla filmmaking that will draw comparisons to similar undercover scenes from Blackfish. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2022 The scale of guerrilla attacks on Russian entities remains, therefore, difficult to assess. Guillaume Ptak, WIRED, 29 Aug. 2022 Would large militias attack government institutions, or would a war be limited to haphazard acts by individuals and small guerrilla factions? Marc Fisher, Anchorage Daily News, 27 Aug. 2022 News of this hegemony’s collapse would have caused cheers among my fellow guerrilla gardeners. Hari Kunzru, Harper’s Magazine , 17 Aug. 2022 The country had a long tradition of guerrilla warfare. Sana Krasikov, The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2022 There are the last remaining humans who are not under the control over the sound-emitters and as such, try to rescue outliers and disrupt her plans through guerrilla warfare. Paul Tassi, Forbes, 25 July 2022 Lindsey Mcginnis, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Aug. 2020 That was the year that social media really started to take off, which gave restaurants and bars this megaphone to kind of guerrilla market on their own. BostonGlobe.com, 11 Sep. 2019 Paolo Luers, a journalist and former guerrilla press officer who became part of Mijango’s team, told me. Daniel Castro, Harper's magazine, 10 June 2019 Maybe a little too guerrilla style for some of the crews. Gary Thompson, Philly.com, 5 Apr. 2018 Her interviews were guerrilla achievements and global events. Dwight Garner, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2017 See More
Noun
The sociologist-turned-guerrilla knows those risks too well. Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Sep. 2022 Godard was ideologue, innovator, provocateur, cineaste (has anyone loved movies quite as much?), guerrilla chieftain, aphorist. Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Sep. 2022 Viewers are likely to be most engaged by a sequence where the journalists and filmmakers are detained at an airport in Zambia, prompting some guerrilla filmmaking that will draw comparisons to similar undercover scenes from Blackfish. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2022 The scale of guerrilla attacks on Russian entities remains, therefore, difficult to assess. Guillaume Ptak, WIRED, 29 Aug. 2022 Would large militias attack government institutions, or would a war be limited to haphazard acts by individuals and small guerrilla factions? Marc Fisher, Anchorage Daily News, 27 Aug. 2022 News of this hegemony’s collapse would have caused cheers among my fellow guerrilla gardeners. Hari Kunzru, Harper’s Magazine , 17 Aug. 2022 The country had a long tradition of guerrilla warfare. Sana Krasikov, The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2022 There are the last remaining humans who are not under the control over the sound-emitters and as such, try to rescue outliers and disrupt her plans through guerrilla warfare. Paul Tassi, Forbes, 25 July 2022 Adjective
Experts say ex-guerrilla fighters, who once occupied the most remote parts of Colombia’s jungles, forests, mountains, and savannas, are uniquely prepared to aid scientists with ongoing conservation efforts. Lindsey Mcginnis, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Aug. 2020 That was the year that social media really started to take off, which gave restaurants and bars this megaphone to kind of guerrilla market on their own. BostonGlobe.com, 11 Sep. 2019 Paolo Luers, a journalist and former guerrilla press officer who became part of Mijango’s team, told me. Daniel Castro, Harper's magazine, 10 June 2019 Maybe a little too guerrilla style for some of the crews. Gary Thompson, Philly.com, 5 Apr. 2018 Her interviews were guerrilla achievements and global events. Dwight Garner, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2017 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun and Adjective
Spanish guerrilla, from diminutive of guerra war, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German werra strife — more at war
First Known Use
Noun
1809, in the meaning defined above
Adjective
1811, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing guerrilla
Kids Definition
guerrilla
noun
guer·ril·la
variants or guerilla
gə-ˈri-lə
: a member of a group carrying on warfare but not part of a regular army
guerrilla 1 of 2
noun
variants or guerilla
as in soldier
a member of a usually small group of soldiers who do not belong to a regular army and who fight in a war as an independent unit The guerrillas controlled half the country. Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- soldier
- paramilitary
- partisan
- marine
- warrior
- raider
- irregular
- fighter
- Confederate
- veteran
- partizan
- counterguerrilla
- trooper
- commando
- regular
- counterguerilla
- legionary
- infantryman
- dogface
- cavalryman
- serviceman
- ranger
- legionnaire
- dragoon
- cavalier
- rifleman
- servicewoman
- foot soldier
- doughboy
- militiaman
- cuirassier
- artilleryman
- combatant
- musketeer
- minuteman
- archer
- carabinier
- lancer
- man-at-arms
- Federal
- grunt
- cannoneer
- gunner
- mortarman
- belligerent
- carabineer
- crossbowman
- guardsman
- jarhead
- pikeman
- spearman
- footman
- conscript
- warhorse
- recruit
- champion
- reservist
- gendarme
- Continental
- draftee
- knight
- enrollee
- lifer
- GI
- gallowglass
- digger
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- civilian
- noncombatant
guerrilla
2 of 2adjective
as in military
Synonyms & Similar Words
- military
- warlike
- militant
- combative
- bellicose
- martial
- pugnacious
- aggressive
- scrappy
- soldierly
- militarist
- truculent
- militaristic
- quarrelsome
- belligerent
- warring
- contentious
- antagonistic
- mercenary
- gladiatorial
- argumentative
- fierce
- hot-tempered
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- civilian
- civil
- unsoldierly
- nonmilitary
- nonviolent
- peaceable
- conciliatory
- peaceful
- pacific
- benevolent
- amiable
- genial
- friendly
- cordial
- easygoing
- ingratiating
- affable
- amicable
- complaisant
- gracious
- obliging
- good-natured