INSURGENTS Synonyms: 28 Similar and Opposite Words

insurgents

noun

plural of insurgent

as in rebels

a person who rises up against authority the government subjected the insurgents to the most inhuman torture imaginable

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of insurgents The insecurity landscape is also more chaotic because some groups, after initially being invited to help defend against insurgents, turned into terrorists, said Dengiyefa Angalapu, an analyst at the Center for Democracy and Development in Abuja. — Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 31 Aug. 2026 Socialists have found a new footing in the party, with younger and more left-wing insurgents ousting older establishment figures to demand generational and ideological change. — Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 28 Aug. 2026 Israel, meanwhile, has remained suspicious of the new authorities in Damascus, led by former Islamist insurgents. — Andrew Wilks, Los Angeles Times, 22 Aug. 2026 In both races, the two incumbents faced insurgents who ran under the democratic socialist banner with campaigns that emphasized universal health care, cost-of-living concerns and opposition to Israel. — Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2026 Continue reading … DEM CIVIL WAR — Left-wing insurgents battle moderates Tuesday in races that could flip the House. — FOXNews.com, 18 Aug. 2026 Relations between the Taliban and Pakistan — initially their most important partner — are tense, as Islamabad accuses Kabul of supporting Pakistani insurgents. — Reuters, NBC news, 15 Aug. 2026 Assad and his brother Maher fled to Russia after insurgents marched into Damascus in December 2014. — ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026 One of the insurgents, a doctoral student in sociology named Darializa Avila Chevalier, is far more emblematic of the DSA’s radicalism. — James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for insurgents

Noun

Nathaniel Bacon and his rebels set fire to Jamestown, the capital of the Virginia colony.

— USA Today, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026
Smokejumpers kicked cargo destined for mountain villages in Vietnam, Hmong rebels in Laos, and Muslim dissidents in China.

— M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of rebels

Noun

Centrist Democrats are not socialists, not revolutionaries, and not disposed to blame Zionist conspiracies for every trouble in American life, including police brutality and urban gentrification.

— David Frum, The Atlantic, 19 Aug. 2026
To make matters worse, ten days later, revolutionaries stormed the Bastille.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of revolutionaries

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insurgent

insurgents

insuring

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“Insurgents.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insurgents. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of insurgents

noun

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