revolutionary

adjective

Save Word

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

Definition of revolutionary

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : 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

revolutionary

noun

plural revolutionaries

Definition of revolutionary (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : one engaged in a revolution

2 : an advocate or adherent of revolutionary doctrines

Other Words from revolutionary Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about revolutionary

Keep scrolling for more

Other Words from revolutionary

Adjective

revolutionarily \ ˌre-və-ˌlü-shə-ˈner-ə-lē

\ adverb

revolutionariness \ ˌre-və-ˈlü-shə-ˌner-ē-nəs

\ noun

Examples of revolutionary in a Sentence

Adjective 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 Noun 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 on the Web: Adjective Together, the two hold the key to some revolutionary technological breakthrough that might succor the ailing globe. — Washington Post, "Jeff VanderMeer’s ‘Hummingbird Salamander’ is a gripping eco-thriller full of cinematic set pieces," 6 Apr. 2021 Bond Intense Moisture Mask launches today, marking the company’s very first at-home reparative hair mask—infused with OLAPLEX’s multi-patented revolutionary ingredient, as per. — Lela London, Forbes, "Olaplex CEO JuE Wong On Patenting Hair Repair, Making History, And Her Biggest Launch Yet," 6 Apr. 2021 The song has flavors of Marvin Gaye, Nina Simone and Sly and the Family Stone, and is reminiscent of the revolutionary sounds of the 1960s. — Jazz Tangcay, chicagotribune.com, "H.E.R. releases new ‘Fight for You’ music video from ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’," 5 Apr. 2021 The best-seller, which was published in March, charts the development of CRISPR-Cas9, the revolutionary gene editing tool. — Deborah Martin, San Antonio Express-News, "Walter Isaacson brings 'The Code Breaker,' his biography of Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna, to San Antonio Book Festival," 5 Apr. 2021 Third, a civil or revolutionary war could break out. — Arkansas Online, "Letters," 3 Apr. 2021 Ken Miles build a revolutionary vehicle for the Ford Motor Co. to compete against the race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966. — Ed Stockly, Los Angeles Times, "Movies on TV this week: James Dean in ‘Giant’ on TCM and more," 2 Apr. 2021 There is Ali Wong, engaged in the revolutionary act of doing stand-up while pregnant. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Column: In a new FX documentary, life for women in comedy is no joke," 2 Apr. 2021 The American civil-rights movement of the nineteen-sixties was not included in the NAVCO data; although there were secessionists and insurgents within the movement, its main demands were reformist, not revolutionary. — Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, "How to Stop a Power Grab," 16 Nov. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun In Maoist times, Monkey has even been proclaimed a Marxist revolutionary, intent on overturning the oppressive imperial order. — Washington Post, "The action-packed saga ‘Monkey King: Journey to the West’ gets a modern take," 3 Mar. 2021 If past is prologue, that person is likely to be another revolutionary. — Joe Nocera Bloomberg Opinion, Star Tribune, "Biden puts antitrust revolution into practice," 10 Mar. 2021 Peach Blossom Paradise is a family saga with the heft of an epic that follows the life of a young woman who meets a revolutionary as the Qing dynasty collapses. — James Mcelroy, Washington Examiner, "A Chinese guide to our cultural revolution," 31 Dec. 2020 Not the first revolutionary to become a drug capitalist — and not the last. — New York Times, "His Debut Novel Won the Pulitzer. Now It Has an Action-Packed Sequel.," 26 Feb. 2021 Protests had just begun against the Vietnam War, but Stewart was not a revolutionary. — Cass Bird; Styling By Samira Nasr, Harper's BAZAAR, "Martha Stewart Is the Original Influencer," 23 Feb. 2021 Defenders of the law reiterate the view of French revolutionary Georges Danton in 1793 that children belong not first to their parents but to the state. — WSJ, "Macron Fights Terror but Steps on Parents," 21 Feb. 2021 But there is no joy in the reunion because Xiumi has become a fanatical revolutionary. — James Mcelroy, Washington Examiner, "A Chinese guide to our cultural revolution," 31 Dec. 2020 First published in 1941, the book tells the story of a Korean colonial-era revolutionary named Kim San. — E. Tammy Kim, The New York Review of Books, "Korea’s Tireless Patriot and Revolutionary," 1 Dec. 2020

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.