rev·o·lu·tion·ary
ˌre-və-ˈlü-shə-ˌner-ē 
1
a
: of, relating to, or constituting a revolution
revolutionary war
b
: tending to or promoting revolution
c
: constituting or bringing about a major or fundamental change
a revolutionary new product
2
capitalized
: of or relating to the American Revolution or to the period in which it occurred
plural revolutionaries
1
: one engaged in a revolution
2
: an advocate or adherent of revolutionary doctrines
Synonyms
Examples of revolutionary in a Sentence
Adjective
a candidate with a lot of crazy, revolutionary ideas that no one seems to be going for
revolutionary forces that were soundly defeated before reaching the capital
Noun
after the collapse of the Russian monarchy, the moderate socialists briefly governed until being overthrown by the Bolshevik revolutionaries
at first the government was not worried about this small band of unarmed revolutionaries
Recent Examples on the Web
Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
People suffering from hair loss have access to revolutionary treatments that go beyond physical appearance thanks to reasonable costs, award-winning facilities like Aslı Tarcan Clinic, and state-of-the-art methods.
—Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 20 Apr. 2024
Even after his imprisonment in 2021, Navalny continued to run his revolutionary network, to campaign against corruption and to spread his promise that Russia would one day become a normal European democracy.
—Simon Shuster / Vilnius, TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
These days, Musk’s guarantees of revolutionary tech just around the corner tend to occasion plenty of doubt and mockery.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 16 Apr. 2024
Since then, the entertainment industry has seen revolutionary changes in how content is created, distributed and consumed.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 16 Apr. 2024
Overnight, Iran mounted a wide-scale aerial attack on Israel, launching more than 300 drones and missiles in retaliation for Israel's air strike on Iran's consulate in Syria two weeks ago that killed 7 members of Iran's revolutionary guard, including two top commanders.
—Nbc Universal, NBC News, 14 Apr. 2024
The telescope design was a global effort, led by NASA, and intended to push the boundaries of astronomical observation with revolutionary engineering.
—Discover Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
Devgn stars as Syed Abdul Rahim, whose revolutionary coaching and strategy methods led the Indian national soccer team to gold medals in the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games and a semi-final berth at the 1956 Olympics.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Apr. 2024
John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024
Outside, the city is also roiling, with revolutionaries demanding India’s freedom from British rule, with Bibbojaan (Aditi Rao Hydari), one of Mallikajaan’s daughters, joining the fight for freedom.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
But those comfy corporate media ingrates aren’t real revolutionaries waging an uprising like the intra-party conflicts among their idols Joseph Stalin, Grigory Zinoviev, Vladimir Lenin, and Leon Trotsky during Russia’s October Revolution.
—Armond White, National Review, 29 Mar. 2024
His name was on a poem that some revolutionaries found inspirational and, thanks to the influence of that poem, Rostov’s life is spared.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Mar. 2024
Unlike Zakaria, Perl-Rosenthal doesn’t really believe that counter-revolutionary or illiberal reversals prove that the early revolutionaries were overweening.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
The relationships among Muslims, Christians and Jews began to shift in the beginning of the 20th century as a group of young socialist revolutionaries — including founders of the future state of Israel, like David Ben-Gurion — immigrated in waves from Russia and Eastern Europe.
—Emily Bazelon, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2024
However, the historical record shows that Garza was more than just an anti-imperialist revolutionary.
—TIME, 9 Apr. 2024
Shatz openly admires the Martinican psychiatrist turned Algerian revolutionary.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2024
Adjective
Breaking Iran or North Korea off from the rest of the axis would be even more difficult, given their governments’ revisionist, even revolutionary aims.
—Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
People suffering from hair loss have access to revolutionary treatments that go beyond physical appearance thanks to reasonable costs, award-winning facilities like Aslı Tarcan Clinic, and state-of-the-art methods.
—Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 20 Apr. 2024
Even after his imprisonment in 2021, Navalny continued to run his revolutionary network, to campaign against corruption and to spread his promise that Russia would one day become a normal European democracy.
—Simon Shuster / Vilnius, TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
These days, Musk’s guarantees of revolutionary tech just around the corner tend to occasion plenty of doubt and mockery.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 16 Apr. 2024
Since then, the entertainment industry has seen revolutionary changes in how content is created, distributed and consumed.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 16 Apr. 2024
Overnight, Iran mounted a wide-scale aerial attack on Israel, launching more than 300 drones and missiles in retaliation for Israel's air strike on Iran's consulate in Syria two weeks ago that killed 7 members of Iran's revolutionary guard, including two top commanders.
—Nbc Universal, NBC News, 14 Apr. 2024
The telescope design was a global effort, led by NASA, and intended to push the boundaries of astronomical observation with revolutionary engineering.
—Discover Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
Devgn stars as Syed Abdul Rahim, whose revolutionary coaching and strategy methods led the Indian national soccer team to gold medals in the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games and a semi-final berth at the 1956 Olympics.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Apr. 2024
Noun
According to legend a Crusader knight was interred here but no longer, as French revolutionaries scattered his bones.
—John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024
Outside, the city is also roiling, with revolutionaries demanding India’s freedom from British rule, with Bibbojaan (Aditi Rao Hydari), one of Mallikajaan’s daughters, joining the fight for freedom.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
But those comfy corporate media ingrates aren’t real revolutionaries waging an uprising like the intra-party conflicts among their idols Joseph Stalin, Grigory Zinoviev, Vladimir Lenin, and Leon Trotsky during Russia’s October Revolution.
—Armond White, National Review, 29 Mar. 2024
His name was on a poem that some revolutionaries found inspirational and, thanks to the influence of that poem, Rostov’s life is spared.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Mar. 2024
Unlike Zakaria, Perl-Rosenthal doesn’t really believe that counter-revolutionary or illiberal reversals prove that the early revolutionaries were overweening.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
The relationships among Muslims, Christians and Jews began to shift in the beginning of the 20th century as a group of young socialist revolutionaries — including founders of the future state of Israel, like David Ben-Gurion — immigrated in waves from Russia and Eastern Europe.
—Emily Bazelon, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2024
However, the historical record shows that Garza was more than just an anti-imperialist revolutionary.
—TIME, 9 Apr. 2024
Shatz openly admires the Martinican psychiatrist turned Algerian revolutionary.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'revolutionary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near revolutionary
Cite this Entry
“Revolutionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/revolutionary. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
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