counterrevolution

noun

coun·​ter·​rev·​o·​lu·​tion ˌkau̇n-tər-ˌre-və-ˈlü-shən 

ˌkau̇n-tə-

1

: a revolution directed toward overthrowing a government or social system established by a previous revolution

2

: a movement to counteract revolutionary trends

counterrevolutionary

ˌkau̇n-tər-ˌre-və-ˈlü-shə-ˌner-ē 

ˌkau̇n-tə-

adjective or noun

Examples of counterrevolution in a Sentence

The leader vowed to stop any attempt at counterrevolution.

Soldiers loyal to the President led the counterrevolution.

Recent Examples on the Web

Elie’s masterful survey is a group portrait of artists and their fellow travelers who participated during a bloody crossroads in American life, when Ronald Reagan’s ascension to the White House in 1980 collapsed the walls between church and state, sparking a counterrevolution across the arts. —Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025

Of course, abrupt revolutions or counterrevolutions are a recurrent theme of history. —Roger Cohen, New York Times, 8 May 2025

Thiel evinced an affinity for the German jurist Carl Schmitt—one of the Nazi luminaries, along with Heidegger, of the anti-liberal counterrevolution. —Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 19 Mar. 2025

This time around, some of the most influential figures in Trump’s court have commitments to the anti-liberal counterrevolution: Vice President J. D. Vance, Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr., and Tucker Carlson, to name a few. —Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 19 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1793, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for counterrevolution

• ablution
• aleutian
• confucian
• dilution
• elution
• locution
• pollution
• solution
• volution
• absolution
• allocution
• attribution

Kids Definition

counterrevolution

noun

coun·​ter·​rev·​o·​lu·​tion ˌkau̇nt-ə(r)-ˌrev-ə-ˈlü-shən 

: a revolution intended to overthrow a government established by an earlier revolution

counterrevolutionary

-ˈlü-shə-ˌner-ē 

adjective or noun

counterrevolutionist

-ˈlü-sh(ə-)nəst

noun