revisionism

noun

re·​vi·​sion·​ism ri-ˈvi-zhə-ˌni-zəm How to pronounce revisionism (audio)
1
: a movement in revolutionary Marxian socialism favoring an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary spirit
2
: advocacy of revision (as of a doctrine or policy or in historical analysis)
revisionist noun or adjective

Examples of revisionism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Iran, meanwhile, is creeping toward nuclear weapons, which could turbocharge its regional revisionism by indemnifying its regime against an Israeli or U.S. response. Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 26 Jan. 2024 In the grisly final season of Barry, Bill Hader’s titular hitman sought redemption through revisionism, rewriting his homicidal personal history in real time rather than suffering the pain of true repentance. Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 6 Dec. 2023 Zambra is hopeful that the revisionism will bring people closer to Neruda’s poems. Graciela Mochkofsky, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2024 One crucial difference between the 1930s and today is the scale of the revisionism. Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 26 Jan. 2024 The myth of the Lost Cause, a stubborn form of pseudo-historical revisionism which holds that the war wasn’t really about slavery—and that slavery wasn’t actually as horrific as people say—regards the Civil War as an attack on an essentially noble Southern way of life. Charles Bethea, The New Yorker, 26 Nov. 2023 Chinese revisionism, backed by Beijing’s ability to cater to the global South’s economic needs, could be more appealing to a lot of countries. Happymon Jacob, Foreign Affairs, 25 Dec. 2023 Another sad but inescapable truth is that Trump’s January 6th revisionism has proved even more politically salient with the Republican electorate than anyone could have predicted on the day itself. Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 4 Jan. 2024 Concerns about self-censorship and revisionism are also surfacing elsewhere. Anant Gupta, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'revisionism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1903, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of revisionism was in 1903

Dictionary Entries Near revisionism

Cite this Entry

“Revisionism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/revisionism. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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