Definition of REVOLT

Choose the Right Synonym for revolt

Noun

rebellion, revolution, uprising, revolt, insurrection, mutiny mean an outbreak against authority. rebellion implies an open formidable resistance that is often unsuccessful. open rebellion against the officers revolution applies to a successful rebellion resulting in a major change (as in government). a political revolution that toppled the monarchy uprising implies a brief, limited, and often immediately ineffective rebellion. quickly put down the uprising revolt and insurrection imply an armed uprising that quickly fails or succeeds. a revolt by the Young Turks that surprised party leaders an insurrection of oppressed laborers mutiny applies to group insubordination or insurrection especially against naval authority. a mutiny led by the ship's cook

Revolution and Revolt

Revolution and revolt have a shared origin, both ultimately going back to the Latin revolvere “to revolve, roll back.” When revolution first appeared in English in the 14th century, it referred to the movement of a celestial body in orbit; that sense was extended to “a progressive motion of a body around an axis,” “completion of a course,” and other senses suggesting regularity of motion or a predictable return to an original position. At virtually the same time, the word developed a sharply different meaning, namely, ”a sudden radical, or complete change,” apparently from the idea of reversal of direction implicit in the Latin verb. Revolt , which initially meant “to renounce allegiance,” grew from the same idea of “rolling back,” in this case from a prior bond of loyalty.

Examples of revolt in a Sentence

Verb

The group threatened to revolt. All the violence revolted me.

Noun

the revolt of the slaves The peasants' revolt was crushed by the king. The leader of the group called for revolt. Consumers are in revolt against high prices.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The Jews of Jerusalem revolted against the Seleucids — ultimately driving them out of the city — and rededicated their Temple, the holiest place in the city. — Tara Isabella Burton, Vox, "Why Hanukkah’s message of Jewish resilience matters so much after Pittsburgh," 29 Nov. 2018 Weeks after the historic walkout, the second wind of the unorthodox #RedForEd activism movement is taking shape in lower-profile, more political ways that educators and their supporters say illustrate the teacher revolt’s lasting influence. — Ricardo Cano, azcentral, "Arizona's #RedForEd movement evolves into quieter, broader political force," 24 June 2018 This moment is different from the time when users initially revolted against Facebook’s news feed in 2006, or when people grumbled about a separate app for chats. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "The fake video era of US politics has arrived on Twitter," 9 Nov. 2018 But investors, fearing the vote would be a referendum on the euro, revolted, sending Italian stocks plummeting and increasing the cost of borrowing to cover Italy’s stubbornly high sovereign debt of 132 percent of GDP. — Washington Post, "Italy gets western Europe’s 1st populist govt on second try," 31 May 2018 Now three Syrian refugee families call the city home — over the objections of residents who revolted when the mayor tried to resettle 100 Syrian refugees in Rutland. — NBC News, "For Muslim Americans, Supreme Court ruling brings wave of worry," 27 June 2018 Here was a figure who absolutely revolted the same elites Ryan had cultivated. — Jonathan Chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Fanatic, Fraud, Factotum: The Rise and Fall of Paul Ryan," 11 Apr. 2018 For the first time in more than seven years, the Syrian government raised its flag Thursday over Daraa, the first city to revolt against President Bashar Assad in 2011 and plunge the country into its calamitous civil war. — Washington Post, "Syrian government raises its flag over cradle of 2011 revolt," 12 July 2018 The failure of the farm bill and revolt over immigration may reflect a lack of political capital available to GOP leaders. — Chad Pergram, Fox News, "GOP House leaders get signals crossed on farm bill; with Ryan leaving what next?," 19 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Only the prospect of a revolt at his party’s convention dissuaded him. — William A. Galston, WSJ, "A Few Steps Toward a Steadier U.S. Politics," 2 Oct. 2018 Many Mexicans will wear mariachi costumes, a symbol of national pride, on Saturday night to commemorate the launch of the revolt against Spanish rule on Sept. 16, 1810. — Fox News, "Gunmen disguised as mariachi musicians kill 5 in Mexico City," 16 Sep. 2018 The news was a surprise to many Googlers, and yesterday an article from The New York Times detailed a Maven-style internal revolt at the company. — Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, "After employee revolt, Google says it is “not close” to launching search in China," 17 Aug. 2018 Prince Philip and the Royal Family of Greece and Denmark and the Mountbattens Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark had a chaotic childhood after his family was deposed by a military revolt. — Marcia Moody, Town & Country, "The Tricky Relationship Between the Royal Family and Their In-laws," 29 July 2018 Congratulations on the revolt of the restaurant masses. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "Revolt of the Tipped Masses," 12 Oct. 2018 And that leads us to the populist revolts of the 19th century. — Eric Johnson, Recode, "Full Q&A: ‘Temp’ author Louis Hyman on Recode Decode," 29 Aug. 2018 Similar frustrations sparked teacher walkouts in West Virginia and Oklahoma and the red-state revolts are now spreading to Colorado and North Carolina. — Bill Weir, CNN, "Arizona teachers walk out of their poorly equipped classrooms," 26 Apr. 2018 Now, with control of the House again at stake this fall and just three dozen of them seeking re-election, the tea party revolt shows the limits of riding a campaign wave into the reality of governing. — Lisa Mascaro, The Seattle Times, "Tea party class of House Republicans fades," 3 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'revolt.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.