guerrilla

views updated May 18 2018

guerrilla A Spanish term meaning ‘little war’, universally applied to low-level or irregular warfare, using social, political, and geographical advantages against conventionally superior forces. It is often associated with resistance by peasants, and was developed as a form of revolutionary and anti-colonial movement in the post-1945 period, based on the theories of guerrilla warfare propounded by Mao Zedong and Che Guevara. The idea is much romanticized but has had some practical successes.

guerrilla

views updated Jun 27 2018

guer·ril·la / gəˈrilə/ (also gue·ril·la) • n. a member of a small independent group taking part in irregular fighting, typically against larger regular forces: this small town fell to the guerrillas | [as adj.] guerrilla warfare.