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Glite Dictionary
guerrilla force

guerrilla force

2 6.5
A group of armed fighters who use sudden attacks against a larger army in rural areas
  • noun
  • /ɡəˈrɪlə fɔrs/
translation icon : fuerza de guerrilla
  • The guerrilla force used hit-and-run tactics to disrupt the enemy's supply lines.

Examples

  • During the conflict, the guerrilla force employed sabotage to undermine the government troops.

  • The local villagers supported the guerrilla force by providing food and information on troop movements.

  • Or people like us have to build the greatest guerrilla force in human history.

    Blog text (30)

  • We want facts and evidence; they want a guerrilla force.

    Blog text (30)

  • Instead, the U.S.A. went to war against their guerrilla forces.

    Blog text (24)

  • The counterinsurgency war was fought between military and guerrilla forces.

    Academic text (2004)

  • In 1992, Algerian guerrilla forces were estimated at 2,000.

    Blog text (4)

  • Meanwhile, the Indian government claims that Pakistan uses them as an unofficial guerrilla force to carry out "dirty tricks."

    Academic text (2000)

  • The guerrilla forces included the Eritrean People's Liberation Front and the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Yet it is also the period in which the MPLA, the FNLA, and UNITA guerrilla forces were fighting the Portuguese military in northern and eastern Angola.

    Academic text (2004)

Synonyms

resistance
vsguerrilla force
412 5.5

Armed action by a group against an enemy or occupying force

is focused on irregular armed rural sabotage rather than general organized opposition
underground
vsguerrilla force
9 7.9

A secret group that tries to resist or overthrow a government

is about armed rural sabotage groups rather than secret political networks
guerilla force
vsguerrilla force
7.0

A group of armed fighters not part of the official army who use surprise attacks and sabotage

is the same but highlights organization sometimes in large groups

Antonyms

regular army
5 3.0

Full-time official soldiers who serve a country on land in peace and war

How Large

army
∞ 1.0
insurgency
  • Literature
54 8.4
guerrilla force
2 6.5
unit
∞ 2.8
cell
  • Literature
123 7.1

Surface Forms

guerrilla force singular
guerrilla forces plural

Morphology

guerrilla + force

The meaning is directly compositional: 'guerrilla' denotes irregular/unconventional fighters and 'force' denotes a group or military unit, so together they straightforwardly mean a group of irregular fighters. This noun-noun combination and the concept exist across many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Guerrilla force comes from the Spanish word guerrilla, which means 'small war' and brings to mind fighters in small bands who hide in the countryside and make quick surprise attacks. That's why a guerrilla force means 'a group' of irregular fighters who use sabotage and harassment against a larger army.