insurrection

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun organized opposition to authority; a conflict in which one faction tries to wrest control from another

Etymology

From Late Middle English insurreccion (“uprising against a government, rebellion, revolt; civil disorder, riot; illegal armed assault”) [and other forms], from Middle French insurrection, Old French insurreccïon (modern French insurrection), and from their etymon Latin īnsurrēctiōnem (rare), the accusative singular of īnsurrēctiō (“rising up, insurrection, rebellion”), from īnsurgō (“to rise up”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside, within’) + surgō (“to arise, get up; to rise”) (from sub- (prefix meaning ‘(from) beneath, under’) + regō (“to direct, govern, rule; to guide, steer; to manage, oversee”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to right oneself, straighten; just; right”))).

In classic literature

Synonyms

rebellion, revolt, rising, uprising

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