intifada

noun

in·​ti·​fa·​da ˌin-tə-ˈfä-də 

plural intifadas

: uprising, rebellion

specifically : an armed uprising of Palestinians against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip

I was a college student at Tufts University in December 1987, when the first Palestinian intifada began.

—Hady Amr

… in 2000, the second intifada struck with the force of an earthquake. As Palestinians fought Israeli troops, the West Bank became all but ungovernable.

—Karen E. Lange

Examples of intifada in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In her afterword, Hammad recalls meeting an oral historian who had interviewed a Palestinian woman in her living room in London at the time of the second intifada. —Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2024

One of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s most prominent officials, Barghouti is now serving multiple life sentences in Israeli prisons for his involvement in the second intifada from 2000 to 2002. —Marwan Muasher, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2024

Far-right politicians dominated the cabinet, far-right extremists attacked civilians in the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority was in jeopardy, and there was a growing risk of a third intifada breaking out. —Ari Shavit, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2024

The trip ordinarily culminated in a flight to Israel, where participants were wrapped in Israeli flags, but the second intifada had just begun, and their group never made it out of Europe. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Arabic intifāḍa, literally, the act of shaking off

First Known Use

1985, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

intifada

noun

in·​ti·​fa·​da ˌint-ə-ˈfäd-ə 

: uprising, rebellion

Etymology

Arabic intifāda, literally, "the act of shaking off"