revolt 1 of 2

Definition of revoltnext
as in insurrection
open fighting against authority (as one's own government) soon the revolt had spread to every corner of the country

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

revolt

2 of 2

verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun revolt differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of revolt are insurrection, mutiny, rebellion, revolution, and uprising. While all these words mean "an outbreak against authority," 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

When is it sensible to use mutiny instead of revolt?

The meanings of mutiny and revolt largely overlap; however, mutiny applies to group insubordination or insurrection especially against naval authority.

a mutiny led by the ship's cook

When could rebellion be used to replace revolt?

While in some cases nearly identical to revolt, rebellion implies an open formidable resistance that is often unsuccessful.

open rebellion against the officers

When can revolution be used instead of revolt?

Although the words revolution and revolt have much in common, revolution applies to a successful rebellion resulting in a major change (as in government).

a political revolution that toppled the monarchy

When might uprising be a better fit than revolt?

The synonyms uprising and revolt are sometimes interchangeable, but uprising implies a brief, limited, and often immediately ineffective rebellion.

quickly put down the uprising

How does the noun revolt differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of revolt are insurrection, mutiny, rebellion, revolution, and uprising. While all these words mean "an outbreak against authority," 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

When is it sensible to use mutiny instead of revolt?

The meanings of mutiny and revolt largely overlap; however, mutiny applies to group insubordination or insurrection especially against naval authority.

a mutiny led by the ship's cook

When could rebellion be used to replace revolt?

While in some cases nearly identical to revolt, rebellion implies an open formidable resistance that is often unsuccessful.

open rebellion against the officers

When can revolution be used instead of revolt?

Although the words revolution and revolt have much in common, revolution applies to a successful rebellion resulting in a major change (as in government).

a political revolution that toppled the monarchy

When might uprising be a better fit than revolt?

The synonyms uprising and revolt are sometimes interchangeable, but uprising implies a brief, limited, and often immediately ineffective rebellion.

quickly put down the uprising

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of revolt
Noun
Jacir’s absorbing film takes place during the 1936–39 Arab revolt, which was a response to British rule and the colonial authority’s partnership with newly arriving Jewish refugees from Europe. Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026 Amidst an anti-colonial revolt, and with Jewish refugees fleeing persecution from Europe, all sides converge in a decisive moment for the entire region. Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 20 Mar. 2026
Verb
The plan ran aground when athletes were apparently awarded identical medals in the same event—the Special Olympics is not, strictly speaking, about winners and losers—and bettors revolted after their payouts were delayed. Mckay Coppins, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2026 What Kessler’s work suggests is supply and demand may work in theory, but in practice, consumers often revolt at life conducted on purely economic terms that feel unfair. Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for revolt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for revolt
Noun
  • There were rebellions, insurrections and an Appian Way lined with crucifixions.
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
  • Meanwhile, a separate insurrection led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, a Marxist political party, tore through the southern part of the country in the late 1980s, killing tens of thousands of people.
    Eranda Jayawickreme, The Conversation, 24 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • He looks staggered at first, then disgusted, and, finally, proud.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
  • These killings—and dozens of other attempts and near misses in many countries—have disgusted decent people and embarrassed even many who hold otherwise anti-Jewish views.
    David Frum, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • The House voted to pass a short-term funding patch for the Department of Homeland Security late Friday night, rebelling against a plan from Senate Republicans that omitted funding for immigration enforcement agencies.
    Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 28 Mar. 2026
  • Masahiro Motoki — the Oscar-winning star of Departures — plays a lord who rebels against warlord Oda Nobunaga and barricades himself inside Arioka Castle, only to face a string of unsolved murders within its walls.
    Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 18 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Müntzer’s teachings helped provoke the widespread uprising of the German peasants in 1525, and have served as a kind of progenitor inspiration for later communist thinkers, from Friedrich Engels to Ernst Bloch.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Herzen’s arrest was part of a sweeping crackdown on intellectual circles following the Decembrist uprising, as the tsarist regime sought to quell dissent.
    Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Sigmund Freud believed that every crush has a strand of disgust, that people are attracted to what repulses them.
    Daniel Felsenthal, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2026
  • Cilantro, a polarizing herb that’s either adored in Mexican, Southeast Asian, and Indian cuisines, or repulsed by those who detect a nauseating soapy taste.
    Catharine Kaufman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • The ur-mutiny, encompassing some of these, provoking and provoked by others, is MAGA.
    George Packer, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2026
  • That mobility occasionally allowed for communication and coordination during mutinies.
    Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 8 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • The Gardners were on a family vacation when Miller Gardner died and Brett Gardner and others were sickened.
    ABC News, ABC News, 20 Mar. 2026
  • In February, the agency said 27 people were sickened in an outbreak of an unknown gastrointestinal illness on board a luxury cruise ship, the Regent Seven Seas, which was sailing from Miami to Honolulu.
    Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Resistance, rebellion and retribution all come out to play in one of Disney+’s most consistent series that’s unafraid to put its larger-than-life characters into the maw of Venus fly trap-like set of moral and ethical issues.
    Randy Myers, Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2026
  • In the era of AI, the notion of learning something for yourself is a quiet, internal act of rebellion against a world that seems to be flowing in the wrong direction.
    Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 25 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Revolt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/revolt. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.

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