What is the difference between uprising / rise?

peggyzhuo - Did you come across this split on some sort of Sentence Correction question? If so, I would like to see the sentence. Whenever I hear uprising, I think of a rebellion, or, in other words, a noun. The word rise, on the other hand, is primarily used as a verb, an action that indicates something going up. The difference between rise and raise is much more subtle.

While it is true that uprise can be used as a verb, that usage is outmoded and pretty much confined to historical texts at this point. It is also true that rise can be used as a noun, as in, "The quality of the report has produced a rise in its popularity in recent weeks." Context is important, but again, as a noun, uprising conjures up images of warfare.

I hope that helps. I am a linguaphile, so I enjoy discussing these sorts of hair-splitting differences, and if you have further questions, I would be happy to take a crack at them.

- Andrew