revolt

verb

re·volt | \ ri-ˈvōlt also -ˈvȯlt

revolted; revolting; revolts

Definition of revolt

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to renounce allegiance or subjection (as to a government) : rebel

2a : to experience disgust or shock

b : to turn away with disgust

transitive verb

: to cause to turn away or shrink with disgust or abhorrence

revolt

noun

Definition of revolt (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : a renouncing of allegiance (as to a government or party) especially : a determined armed uprising

2 : a movement or expression of vigorous dissent

Other Words from revolt Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym Revolution and Revolt Example Sentences Learn More about revolt

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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

After House moderates revolted Thursday, Democrats had to discard a plan to send the bill back to the Senate before an end-of-month deadline. — Author: Mike Debonis, Rachael Bade, Anchorage Daily News, "‘A betrayal’: Inside Pelosi, Schumer’s rift on border bill," 29 June 2019 Put simply, the middle classes are revolting against Western managerial elites. — Victor Davis Hanson, The Mercury News, "Hanson: Why are Western middle classes revolting against the elites?," 13 June 2019 Put simply, the middle classes are revolting against Western managerial elites. — Victor Davis Hanson, National Review, "Why Are the Western Middle Classes So Angry?," 13 June 2019 Which will cause all the other lords to revolt against her. — Abby Gardner, Glamour, "This Game of Thrones Theory Suggests Bran Actually Warged Into Drogon at King's Landing," 16 May 2019 Americans in 1776 did not revolt against the developing parliamentary government in London. — George Melloan, WSJ, "Is ‘First, Kill All the Lawyers’ the Democrats’ New Credo?," 12 Oct. 2018 The 9/11 Commission concluded that the hijackers downed the plane as passengers revolted, in a field in Shanksville, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) southeast of Pittsburgh. — Fox News, "Remaining wreckage of Flight 93 is buried at memorial," 10 July 2018 Even many who supported candidate Trump have been revolted by his intemperate, cruel and dangerous rhetoric, and by some of his policies. — Michael S. Roth, Washington Post, "Our graduates should answer cynicism and insults with inquiry and reflection," 29 May 2018 New York is not the only place where Asian-Americans are revolting against racial preferences as a tool to help minorities. — William Mcgurn, WSJ, "An Asian-American Awakening," 11 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

In the last few months, hundreds of people have been killed during some of the worst fighting in Libya since the revolt that toppled Col. — Washington Post, "Turkey accuses Libyan commander of detaining Turkish citizens and threatens retaliation," 1 July 2019 Where Libya quickly found itself under a hail of American, French, and British bombs, and Ukraine’s eastern border was soon invaded by unmarked Russian vehicles, the Armenian revolt was largely left to its own devices. — Tom Ball, The New Republic, "How to Stage a Successful Revolution," 1 July 2019 But the recent revolt against increasing congressional pay makes such a shift seem unlikely. — Richard Skinner, Vox, "Technology and transparency: the path to a modern Congress?," 26 June 2019 Trump’s emphasis on immigration last fall came at an especially high cost for Republicans in the Southwest, where Latinos and Asians led the voter revolt. — Seema Mehta, latimes.com, "Trump’s threat to deport millions of immigrants risks backlash in 2020," 21 June 2019 The revolt against the governing party, Smer-S.D., began after the murders of a young investigative reporter, Jan Kuciak, and his fiancée, Martina Kusnirova, in February 2018. — Marc Santora, New York Times, "Slovakia’s First Female President, Zuzana Caputova, Takes Office in a Divided Country," 15 June 2019 The revolt against the governing party, Smer-SD, began after the murders of a young investigative reporter, Jan Kuciak, and his fiancée, Martina Kusnirova, in February 2018. — Marc Santora, BostonGlobe.com, "Slovakia’s first female president, Zuzana Caputova, takes office in a divided country," 15 June 2019 Vucic plans to bring his supporters to Belgrade next Friday to counter the rising revolt against his rule. — Dusan Stojanovic, The Seattle Times, "Thousands rally in Serbia against populist leader Vucic," 14 Apr. 2019 Gone is the one-price-fits-all edict for tickets, with the school introducing a tiered pricing system after a social media revolt among IU fans a year ago. — Gregg Doyel, Indianapolis Star, "Doyel: IU, Purdue are actually, finally trying to win in football," 5 June 2019

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.