intifada

Definition

An insurrection; a usually violent attempt to take control of a government.

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic اِنْتِفَاضَة (intifāḍa, “shaking off, uprising, insurrection”).

Example Sentences

• "Indeed, violence broke out in the occupied territories in mid-May 2000 as Palestinians observed the anniversary of the 1948 nakba—these disturbances paled in comparison to the second intifada, which erupted in the autumn."
• "But unlike the Intifadas that began in 1987 and 2000, when Israel had someone to call to try to turn it off, there is no Palestinian on the other end of the phone this time […]"