guerrilla

guerrilla — noun

1. a person who belongs to an unofficial armed group and attacks government soldier

1.nounB2
Definition

a person who belongs to an unofficial armed group and attacks government soldiers by surprise, usually in an effort to change the political system or drive out an occupying force

Example

Government soldiers exchanged fire with guerrillas in the mountain region.

Reema's uncle was a guerrilla who fought for independence in the 1970s.

countable noun: a guerrilla / two guerrillas

Common collocations
  • guerrilla warfare
  • guerrilla fighter
  • guerrilla group
  • guerrilla tactics
  • guerrilla movement
  • guerrilla attack
  • guerrilla leader
  • guerrilla army
Synonyms
  • rebel

    broader term — a rebel fights against the government but may be part of a large organized force rather than a small, hit-and-run group

  • insurgent

    more formal and political — often used in news reports about armed uprisings

  • freedom fighter

    positive or politically charged term — used by supporters who see the fighter's cause as just

  • partisan

    historical term — especially a resistance fighter in occupied territory during World War II

Antonyms

Usage Note

Often used attributively before nouns such as war, group, tactics, or attack. The plural form (guerrillas) is more common than the singular when referring to a group as a whole.

Common Mistakes

The gorilla fighters attacked the camp.
The guerrilla fighters attacked the camp.
'gorilla' is a large ape; 'guerrilla' means an irregular fighter. The spelling difference is one letter.

guerrilla — adjective

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe people who fight against an established authority, but they differ in scope and connotation. A guerrilla fights as part of a small, unofficial group using surprise attacks and hit-and-run tactics — the focus is on the method of fighting. A rebel opposes the government of their own country and may be part of a larger, more organized uprising. Insurgent is a more formal term often used in news reporting to describe armed opposition to a government or occupying power. Freedom fighter is a politically charged label — people use it to show support for the fighter's cause rather than describe their tactics. Partisan is largely historical, referring to resistance fighters in WWII Europe who operated behind enemy lines. For example, 'the guerrillas attacked and disappeared into the jungle' emphasizes the method; 'the rebels seized control of the city' emphasizes the uprising; and 'she is remembered as a freedom fighter' emphasizes the perceived legitimacy of her cause.

rebel ↗insurgentfreedom fighterpartisan

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • guerrilla warfare
  • guerrilla tactics
  • guerrilla movement
  • guerrilla group

Etymology

SpanishEnglish

The word guerrilla comes from Spanish, where it means 'little war' — a combination of guerra ('war') and the diminutive suffix -illa ('little'). It entered English during the Peninsular War (1808–1814), when Spanish civilians fought Napoleon's French army using small-scale surprise attacks. The term originally described the style of fighting, and only later came to refer to the fighters themselves. Today the adjective use (guerrilla marketing, guerrilla art) extends the original idea of unconventional, small-scale tactics into non-military fields.