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

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 Camille, as a rebel and an outsider, revolted against her mother's ministrations. — refinery29.com, "Who Is Camille's Father In Sharp Objects?," 9 July 2018 Their base will revolt or turn back to UKIP; the most left-wing Labour government in British history will come to power; and the U.K. will effectively be governed by the E.U. but have no place at the table to affect its policies. — Andrew Sullivan, Daily Intelligencer, "Why We Should Say Yes to Drugs," 25 May 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. — Colleen Barry, The Christian Science Monitor, "Italy forms western Europe's first populist government," 1 June 2018 Eastern Ghouta was one of the first areas near Damascus to revolt in protest in 2011. — The Washington Post, NOLA.com, "Dozens reportedly killed in apparent chemical attack in Syria," 8 Apr. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

But with the Brexit supporters in the party in full revolt, Conservative insiders predicted further resignations unless May drops her plan. — Stephen Castle, BostonGlobe.com, "The hidden, high-tech world of communications at Fenway Park," 9 July 2018 With the hard-line supporters of withdrawal, known as Brexit, in the party in full revolt, Conservative insiders predicted further resignations unless Mrs. May dropped her plan. — Stephen Castle, New York Times, "Theresa May in Fight to Save Government Amid Brexit Rift," 9 July 2018 The mini-revolt that started eight months ago, when Sweden toppled Italy in qualifying and barred the four-time champions from the World Cup for the first time since 1958, is blowing up into a full rebellion at the tournament itself. — John Leicester, chicagotribune.com, "Winds of football change blow at Russia World Cup," 7 July 2018 California helped set the pace for conservative politics for decades, from the anti-Communist politics of Richard Nixon's era, to the anti-tax revolts of Reagan's, to immigration politics of today. — NBC News, "California's GOP is collapsing. Is that a sign for Republicans nationwide?," 4 June 2018 This data, culled from Le Monde, is fascinating; every region of the world witnessed youth revolts of assorted varieties. — Alan Wolfe, The New Republic, "A Most Violent Year," 18 May 2018 Velvet revolt In April, Pashinyan led 10 days of peaceful demonstrations across the country against Serzh Sargsyan, who was appointed Prime Minister after spending a decade as President. — Kate Samuelson, Time, "Armenia’s Peaceful Protester Takes Power in a Bloodless Revolution," 8 May 2018 He's led the agency for two months, ever since Trump fired David Shulkin amid an internal revolt and questions about his compliance with ethics rules. — NBC News, "Trump nominates Robert Wilkie to head Veterans Affairs," 18 May 2018 The result of believing the world was ending was usually not very salutary: Crusades, revolts and mass hysteria often followed both the predictions and their failure. — Rabbi David Wolpe, Time, "Why We Shouldn't Be So Sure of Our Predictions About the Future," 20 Apr. 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.