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Glite Dictionary
🛡️ Against rebels 🛡️ Rebel fighter
counterinsurgent

counterinsurgent

1 9.1
A person or group that fights a rebellion, often for the government
  • noun
  • /ˌkaʊntərɪnˈsɜrdʒənt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : contrainsurgente
  • That has made it impossible to carry out classic counterinsurgency operations because those typically require a ratio of roughly 1 counterinsurgent per 50 civilians.

Examples

  • Many counterinsurgent tactics focus on winning the support of the local population to undermine rebel influence.

  • The film presents Tavington as a frustrated counterinsurgent, chasing rebels across the countryside and clashing with the more "conventional" warriors in the British chain of command (such as Cornwallis) who clearly do not understand how to fight a guerrilla war.

    Academic text (2013)

  • The government deployed a team of counterinsurgent specialists to quell the rebellion in the region.

  • Training programs for counterinsurgents are critical in developing effective strategies against uprisings.

Synonyms

counterrevolutionary
vscounterinsurgent
3 8.9

Against a large change in government and trying to stop it

acts to oppose or physically suppress uprisings rather than only oppose ideas
counterrevolutionist
vscounterinsurgent
9.9

A person who tries to undo a revolution and bring back the old government

acts to oppose or suppress uprisings rather than reverse past leadership
counterguerrilla
vscounterinsurgent
  • Specialized
8.5

A soldier or unit that fights guerrilla fighters

acts to oppose or suppress uprisings broadly, not only fighting irregular fighters

Antonyms

insurgent
  • Literature
93 8.6

A person who fights against the government, often as part of a small armed group

Surface Forms

counterinsurgent singular
counterinsurgents plural

Morphology

counterinsurgent = insurgent (transparent) = counter + insurgent

Formed by adding 'counter-' to the noun 'insurgent', yielding a person/group opposing insurgents; the derivation is regular and clear.

Etymology

Counterinsurgent is a person or group made of counter- ('against') and insurgent ('one who rises up'), so a counterinsurgent is someone who works to stop rebels and restore order.