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incursion

incursion

22 8.2
A sudden short attack into enemy land
  • noun
  • /ɪnˈkɜrʒən/
translation icon : incursión
  • The small Finnish army was able to keep incursions by Russian red troops at bay too.
  • a military incursion
  • an Israeli incursion
  • border incursions

Look, the the US has had two major incursions into Mexico.

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Examples

  • Look, the the US has had two major incursions into Mexico.

  • The surprise incursion by enemy forces disrupted the peace talks in the region.

  • You made an incursion onto an enemy planet!

  • What about the incursion into Kuwait?

  • An armed incursion now would undermine those negotiations.

  • They're reporting a Rebel incursion.

  • As could be expected, the UN, the US, and Syria reacted strongly to the new Israeli incursion.

    Academic text (2016)
  • The Afghans will wait out this latest incursion as they did those by every foreign invader since Alexander the Great.

    Academic text (2011)
  • On March 8 and March 17, 2012, the Ethiopian army made two incursions into Eritrean territories.

    Blog text (25)
  • Many Turks joined Ottoman incursions into Southeast Europe for opportunity and adventure.

    Academic text (2009)

Synonyms

raid
vsincursion
373 4.9

A sudden attack by police or soldiers on a place

is a brief entry into enemy territory not limited to small teams
penetration
vsincursion
  • Specialized
9 7.5

A military attack that breaks through enemy defenses and enters their territory

is a short military entry focused on a quick strike rather than breakthrough
foray
vsincursion
7 7.3

A short sudden attack to take things from an enemy place

is a sudden brief attack into enemy territory rather than taking goods
inroad
vsincursion
1 8.3

A sudden armed attack into enemy land to take control or steal goods

is a quick military entry into enemy ground rather than prolonged plunder
sortie
vsincursion
  • Specialized
9.5

A sudden attack by troops leaving a defensive position

is instead an attack that enters enemy territory regardless of starting position
irruption
vsincursion
9.9

A sudden forceful entry of people or things into a place

is a quick targeted attack into enemy ground rather than broad violent invasion

Antonyms

defense
  • US
460 1.4

Protection from attack, danger, harm, or illness

93 4.4

A move back from a place to escape danger

How Invasive

invasion
476 4.3
incursion
22 8.2
raid
373 4.9
sortie
  • Specialized
2 8.9
to foray
1 7.8

Surface Forms

incursion singular
incursions plural

Morphology

incursion = incur (semi-transparent) = in + curs + sion

The morphological formation parallels sense 1 (in- + root + -sion), but because the root element is not a visible English word and 'incur' commonly means something else, the derivation is not fully transparent to learners.

Etymology

Incursion comes from the Latin parts in- 'into' and currere 'to run', so it paints the picture of a quick 'running into' enemy land. That's why an incursion is a sudden, short attack or raid into another land.