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Shining Path

Shining Path

6 9.1
A violent communist rebel group in Peru that used terror against people
  • noun
  • NSFW
translation icon : Sendero Luminoso
  • The documentary highlighted the brutal tactics employed by Shining Path against civilians.
  • Shining Path insurgency
  • Shining Path control
  • efforts by the Shining Path

Examples

  • The territorial evolution of the Shining Path generally conforms to the three-stage pattern of other modern insurgency movements.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The Maoist group Shining Path is infamous for its violent campaigns in rural Peru.

  • Within a year, Shining Path control of the small settlement was too much for the government to ignore.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The upper Huallaga Valley offered the Shining Path new opportunities and challenges.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The hold of the Shining Path on the upper Huallaga Valley is not secure.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Nevertheless, the Shining Path is far short of realizing the third stage of a successful revolutionary movement.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The effects of the Shining Path on the economic, social, and political life of Peru have been widespread.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Using violence backed by the threat of death, the Shining Path sought to create power vacuums that it would fill.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Securely established in these areas, the Shining Path initiated its armed conflict in Ayacucho in 1980.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Many communities in Peru lived in fear due to the actions of the Shining Path during the 1980s.

Synonyms

Sendero Luminoso
vsShining Path
9.9

An armed rebel group in Peru that used violent attacks to try to overthrow the government

focuses on terror tactics and extreme brutality rather than political overthrow

Surface Forms

Shining Path singular
Shining Paths plural

Morphology

shining + path

The name 'Shining Path' is a proper noun for a specific Maoist insurgent group in Peru and its violent, political meaning is not deducible from the literal senses of 'shining' (bright) and 'path' (route or course). A B1 learner who knows the constituent words would likely interpret the phrase as a metaphorical or positive route, not as the name of a terrorist organization, so the expression is unpredictable from its parts.

Etymology

Shining Path comes from the group's idea of a bright road to change: the image of a shining path suggests a clear way toward 'revolution'. That's why these words became the name for the Maoist group in Peru, which later became known for violence.