irregulars
Militia without uniforms
Irregulars are soldiers or fighters not belonging to a regular army—guerrillas, partisans, or militia operating outside conventional military structure: The irregulars harassed supply lines throughout the occupation.
In retail, irregulars are goods sold at a discount because of minor flaws or imperfections: These socks are irregulars—small defects, big savings.
Irregular combatants, unconventional warfare
- partisansStaunch factional supporters
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- insurgentsThose fighting established authority
- paramilitaryUnofficial armed organization
rebels · commandos · fighters · combatants · volunteers · mujahideen · minutemen · underground
Deviation from the norm
- deviationDeparture from expected path
- odditySomething unusual or unexpected
- peculiarityUnusual distinguishing characteristic
- eccentricityUnconventional behavior or nature
quirk · exception · inconsistency · discrepancy · nonconformity · outlier · misfit · unconventional
Words expressing actions
- conjugationVerb form variation system
- inflectionWord form alteration
- declensionNoun form variation
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
paradigm · exceptions · anomalous · nonstandard · see-saw
Suffering emotional turmoil
- patchworkFabric scraps sewn together
- asymmetricalNot equal on both sides
- deconstructedBroken down systematically
- unfinishedNot yet complete
frayed · ripped · unconstructed · avant-garde · experimental · artisanal · handcrafted · one-of-a-kind
Not smooth or balanced
- lopsidedUnequally balanced
- jaggedSharply uneven, notched
- nonuniformLacking consistent pattern
- misshapenAbnormally or poorly formed
disproportionate · skewed · unbalanced · patchy · scattered · fragmented · zigzag · rough
guerrillas
Irregular combatants, unconventional warfare
- partisansStaunch factional supporters
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- insurgentsThose fighting established authority
paramilitary · rebels · commandos · fighters · combatants · volunteers · mujahideen · minutemen · underground · cells
aberration
Deviation from the norm
- deviationDeparture from expected path
- odditySomething unusual or unexpected
- peculiarityUnusual distinguishing characteristic
eccentricity · quirk · exception · inconsistency · discrepancy · nonconformity · outlier · misfit · unconventional · atypical
verbs
Words expressing actions
- conjugationVerb form variation system
- inflectionWord form alteration
- declensionNoun form variation
morphology · paradigm · exceptions · anomalous · nonstandard · see-saw
distressed
Suffering emotional turmoil
- patchworkFabric scraps sewn together
- asymmetricalNot equal on both sides
- deconstructedBroken down systematically
unfinished · frayed · ripped · unconstructed · avant-garde · experimental · artisanal · handcrafted · one-of-a-kind · bespoke
uneven
Not smooth or balanced
- lopsidedUnequally balanced
- jaggedSharply uneven, notched
- nonuniformLacking consistent pattern
misshapen · disproportionate · skewed · unbalanced · patchy · scattered · fragmented · zigzag · rough · bumpy
- cheap stuffknockoffs, bargain bins, flea market goods, garage sale items, no-name brands
- defective merchandiseproduct defects, hidden defects, malfunctions, dead on arrival, DOA
- wastetrash, garbage, rubbish, refuse, debris
- insurgentsinsurgent, guerrillas, guerrilla, rebel, resistance fighters
- Militiascitizen militia, colonial militia, colonial militias, territorial defense, citizen army
- Imperfect goodsseconds, factory seconds, culls, rejects, damaged goods
irregularsregulars
Habitual visitors
regular army · regular verbs · standing army · conventional forces · firsts
- irregular pluralsNouns breaking standard rules
- irregular heartbeatAbnormal cardiac rhythm
- irregular verbsVerbs with unpredictable tenses
- irregular periodsUnpredictable menstrual timing
- irregular warfareUnconventional military operations
- irregular shapeNon-uniform contour