Adjacent Words

guerrilla definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a member of an irregular armed force that fights a stronger force by sabotage and harassment [syn: guerrilla, guerilla, irregular, insurgent]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun or guerilla Etymology: Spanish guerrilla, from diminutive of guerra war, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German werra strife — more at war Date: 1809 a person who engages in irregular warfare especially as a member of an independent unit carrying out harassment and sabotage II. adjective Date: 1811 of, relating to, or suggestive of guerrillas especially in being aggressive, radical, or unconventional

Britannica Concise

Member of an irregular military force fighting small-scale, limited actions, in concert with an overall political-military strategy, against conventional military forces. Guerrilla tactics involve constantly shifting attacks, sabotage, and terrorism. The word (the diminutive of the Spanish guerra, "war") was first used to describe the Spanish-Portuguese irregulars who helped drive the French from the Iberian Peninsula in the early 19th cent. The underlying strategy is to harass the enemy until the guerrillas have sufficient military strength to win or can pressure the enemy to seek peace. The Chinese general Sunzi (4th cent. BC) laid down the rules of guerrilla tactics.

U.S. Military Dictionary

A combat participant in guerrilla warfare. See also unconventional warfare.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (also guerilla) a member of a small independently acting (usu. political) group taking part in irregular fighting, esp. against larger regular forces. Phrases and idioms: guerrilla war (or warfare) fighting by or with guerrillas. Etymology: Sp. guerrilla, dimin. of guerra war

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Guerrilla Guer*ril"la, n. [Sp., lit., a little war, skirmish, dim. of guerra war, fr. OHG. werra discord, strife. See War.] 1. An irregular mode of carrying on war, by the constant attacks of independent bands, adopted in the north of Spain during the Peninsular war. 2. One who carries on, or assists in carrying on, irregular warfare; especially, a member of an independent band engaged in predatory excursions in war time. Note: The term guerrilla is the diminutive of the Spanish word guerra, war, and means petty war, that is, war carried on by detached parties; generally in the mountains. . . . A guerrilla party means, an irregular band of armed men, carrying on an irregular war, not being able, according to their character as a guerrilla party, to carry on what the law terms a regular war. --F. Lieder.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Guerrilla Guer*ril"la, a. Pertaining to, or engaged in, warfare carried on irregularly and by independent bands; as, a guerrilla party; guerrilla warfare.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

also guerilla(guerrillas) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. A guerrilla is someone who fights as part of an unofficial army, usually against an official army or police force. The guerrillas threatened to kill their hostages. ...a guerrilla war. N-COUNT: oft N n

Moby Thesaurus

Charley, VC, Vietcong, bushfighter, bushwhacker, casual, guerilla, insurgent, irregular, maquis, maquisard, partisan, patriot, resistance, resistance fighter, saboteur, terrorist, underground, underground fighter