revolutionary

adjective rev·o·lu·tion·ary \ ˌre-və-ˈlü-shə-ˌner-ē \

|Updated on: 9 Aug 2018

Examples: revolutionary in a Sentence

Definition of revolutionary

1 a : of, relating to, or constituting a revolution

revolutionary war

b : tending to or promoting revolution

c : constituting or bringing about a major or fundamental change

a revolutionary new product

2 capitalized : of or relating to the American Revolution or to the period in which it occurred

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revolutionarily

play \ˌre-və-ˌlü-shə-ˈner-ə-lē\ adverb

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revolutionariness

play \ˌre-və-ˈlü-shə-ˌner-ē-nəs\ noun

See revolutionary defined for English-language learners

See revolutionary defined for kids

Examples of revolutionary in a Sentence

a candidate with a lot of crazy, revolutionary ideas that no one seems to be going for
revolutionary forces that were soundly defeated before reaching the capital

Recent Examples of revolutionary from the Web

Inspired by a series of revolutionary figures from across the African continent, the combs pay tribute to icons of feminine power.

— janelle okwodu, Vogue, "Byredo’s New Keepsake Combs Pay Tribute to Africa’s Beloved Queens," 13 July 2018
But now, the first test of a new full color, 3D x-ray machine has been conducted on a human, and the results are revolutionary and freaky at the same time, reports Kristin Houser at Futurism.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Check Out These Awesome New 3D, Full-Color X-Rays," 13 July 2018
In the late 1960s, a faction of the revolutionary Irish Republican Army began a terrorist campaign against Britain’s governance of Northern Ireland.

— arthur i. cyr, Lake County News-Sun, "Cyr: Britain’s prime minister takes charge of cabinet," 13 July 2018
When a revolutionary mob stormed the Bastille on July 14, 1789, the famous Paris prison held only seven inmates.

— amanda foreman, WSJ, "Literature Behind Bars," 12 July 2018
The participants were skilled and unskilled, immigrant and native-born, revolutionary and reformist.

— livia gershon, Longreads, "Clocking Out," 11 July 2018
The vast Luzhniki Stadium which will host the final has a huge concrete statue of Lenin, the Bolshevik revolutionary leader, guarding its entrance.

— SI.com, "90min World Cup Fan Diaries: From Russia With Love," 9 July 2018
Da Vinci, after learning that technique from him, abandoned it in favor of oils, which at the time was a revolutionary decision.

— susan dunne, courant.com, "Yale Art Gallery Unravels Leonardo Da Vinci Mysteries," 3 July 2018
Jack Griffin of Metropolis Farms was once hailed as a revolutionary for his plans to build a vertical farm and bring indoor agriculture to the masses.

— aubrey nagle, Philly.com, "Trump cancels Eagles celebration, Krasner wants list of tainted police | Morning Newsletter," 5 June 2018

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

First Known Use of revolutionary

1718

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

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revolutionary Synonyms

Other History Terms

agonistic, carpetbagger, enceinte, fief, historiography, paladin

revolutionary

noun

Definition of revolutionary

plural revolutionaries

1 : one engaged in a revolution

2 : an advocate or adherent of revolutionary doctrines

See revolutionary defined for English-language learners

Examples of revolutionary in a Sentence

after the collapse of the Russian monarchy, the moderate socialists briefly governed until being overthrown by the Bolshevik revolutionaries
at first the government was not worried about this small band of unarmed revolutionaries

Recent Examples of revolutionary from the Web

The storytelling series, hosted at this Lower East Side venue with speakeasy vibes, celebrates the female revolutionaries who often don’t get their fair share of real estate in history books.

— kasia pilat, New York Times, "7 Comedy Shows to Catch in N.Y.C. This Weekend," 12 July 2018
An elephant that survived capture by Cuban revolutionaries in the late 1950s, a highway wreck and a burning ship is getting a 70th birthday bash at her Tennessee wildlife sanctuary on Friday.

— joe marusak, charlotteobserver, "She survived Castro, a crash and a burning ship. Now Shirley the elephant is turning 70," 5 July 2018
For the fraternity of American revolutionaries life was actually quite good on an individual level.

— chris stirewalt, Fox News, "The new trustbusters," 3 July 2018
From strong-safety revolutionary, to emotional leader to head-scratching holdout, his legacy isn’t necessarily a simple one.

— matt calkins, The Seattle Times, "Kam Chancellor’s legacy with Seahawks will be one of intimidation, big hits," 1 July 2018
Shortly after the end of the Second World War, President Truman dispatched General George Marshall to broker a peace deal between China’s repressive National Government and the revolutionaries led by Mao Zedong.

— george packer, The New Yorker, "Briefly Noted," 16 June 2018
Months later, the American embassy was overrun and the revolutionaries took 52 Americans hostage for more than a year.

— meg jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Flags for Heroes celebrates heroes among us," 22 May 2018
As a result of the migratory waves, hundreds of thousands of Cubans in their 50s and 60s have regular contact with friends and relatives in other countries, a sharp distinction from Cuba's original revolutionaries.

— michael weissenstein and andrea rodriguez, The Christian Science Monitor, "Cubans await transition of power away from ruling revolutionaries," 13 Apr. 2018
History textbooks written under previous governments led by the Congress Party enlarged the role of Congress leaders in India’s struggle for independence, while minimizing the role of other revolutionaries, according to Rai.

— vidhi doshi, Washington Post, "India’s new textbooks are promoting the prime minister’s favorite policies, critics allege," 1 June 2018