revolutionary

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

|Updated on: 14 Jun 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

As a mathematical concept, the idea of zero is relatively new in human society—and indisputably revolutionary.

— kate keller, Smithsonian, "Bees May Understand Zero, a Concept That Took Humans Millennia to Grasp," 9 June 2018
These are are some of the most admirable, noble and revolutionary giants of humanity.

— jeff duncan, NOLA.com, "Congress finally finds something it can agree on: Steve Gleason," 6 June 2018
For the notoriously impenitent West, any admission of wrongdoing—even in the past—may seem revolutionary.

— hannah giorgis, The Atlantic, "The Trumpian Dissonance of Kanye West's ‘Violent Crimes’," 1 June 2018
Falz's 'This is Nigeria,' embodies the revolutionary and rebel spirit of Fela Anikulapo Kuti before him.

— joey akan, CNN, "From Chibok Girls to Yahoo Boys, 'This is Nigeria' video is a mirror for the country," 28 May 2018
But now, female voices are getting attention in ways that honestly seems revolutionary.

— julie hinds, Detroit Free Press, "The breakout star in 'Solo' is L3-37, a female droid for our turbulent Time's Up era," 20 May 2018
In this case the devil took the form of Petr Verkhovensky, a pseudo-revolutionary and provocateur.

— The Economist, "A great Russian director brings history to life on stage," 17 May 2018
Oddly, or, more likely, by necessity, their lyrics don’t seem all that revolutionary.

— alissa wilkinson, Vox, "Leto, directed by an outspoken Putin critic, is a tribute to the Soviet underground rock scene," 11 May 2018
Those contributions may seem less revolutionary when viewed today, because so much current programming reflects Hill Street's influence.

— bill keveney, USA TODAY, "Remembering Steven Bochco, TV producer behind 'Hill Street,' 'L.A. Law,' 'NYPD Blue'," 2 Apr. 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

Madera is confident that 10 million revolutionaries will turn up on election day to propel Maduro forward in an honest and fair contest.

— scott smith, Fox News, "Maduro's backers press socialism amid Venezuela's nightmare," 17 May 2018
Madera is confident that 10 million revolutionaries will turn up on election day to propel Maduro forward in an honest and fair contest.

— Washington Post, "Maduro’s backers press socialism amid Venezuela’s nightmare," 17 May 2018
One of rap's earliest pioneers, Gil Scott-Heron, released his debut album in 1970—entitled Small Talk at 125th and Lenox—which contained themes of racial inequality, economic immobility, and the ideals of Black revolutionaries.

— candace mcduffie, Glamour, "Let's Acknowledge the Artists That Paved the Way for Donald Glover's 'This Is America'," 8 May 2018
In this meld of history and reportage, the deserters’ stories, and those of dozens of revolutionaries, hosts, and spies, coalesce into an often moving examination of loyalty and dissent.

— junot díaz, The New Yorker, "Briefly Noted," 7 May 2018
When Muammar Qaddafi’s regime fell in 2011, the writer Hisham Matar listened by phone from London as revolutionaries knocked down the doors in Tripoli’s Abu Salim prison to free the political dissidents who had been shackled there.

— New York Times, "New & Noteworthy," 10 Apr. 2018
Only one, 85-year-old Ramiro Valdez, was among the revolutionaries who fought with the Castros in the late 1950s in the eastern Sierra Maestra mountains.

— michael weissenstein and andrea rodriguez, chicagotribune.com, "Miguel Diaz-Canel becomes Cuba's first leader outside Castro dynasty in nearly six decades," 19 Apr. 2018
Its presentation coincides with the 50th anniversary of the tumultuous events in France of May 1968, when Godard and his fellow revolutionaries brought that year's Cannes festival to a screeching halt.

— justin chang, latimes.com, "Spike Lee and David Robert Mitchell films will compete in the most surprising Cannes lineup in years," 12 Apr. 2018
Meanwhile, the scruffy revolutionaries whose tiny demonstration had started the whole mess were running back and forth, scared, exhilarated, and confused.

— leor galil, Chicago Reader, "Archive Dive / Music What caused the melee outside a Public Enemy and Sonic Youth show at the Aragon in 1990?," 23 Feb. 2018