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

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

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
Its brutal and ongoing crackdown on protests has quelled a public revolt. — David Goldman, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026 Gilt markets came under pressure last year when Starmer's finance minister Rachel Reeves watered down her initial plans to cut welfare spending last year, following a revolt from backbench MPs. — Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 6 Oct. 2026
Verb
Schumer has turned the tables since 2025 Attitudes within the Democratic caucus have improved since last year, when the base revolted against Schumer for the March vote to keep the Republican president’s government open. — Mary Clare Jalonick, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026 Attitudes within the Democratic caucus have improved since last year, when the base revolted against Schumer for the March vote to keep the Republican president's government open. — ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for revolt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for revolt
Noun
  • The insurrection drew immediate and obvious parallels to the United States, which, during much of the past decade, has lurched alongside Brazil through a strange hall of mirrors.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Beyond calling and readying Americans for a fight against the insurrection, Lincoln also outlined the meaning and memory of the conflict about to commence.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Janice was disgusted; Mary was emotionally devastated and financially ruined.
    — Ben Taub, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • But discussing the importance of a top-10 win in October seemed to disgust Drinkwitz.
    — PJ Green, Kansas City Star, 4 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Collin, 22 While the show was filming, Collin often rebelled against the production by acting detached rather than performing for the cameras.
    — Isabella Albaig, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Add hot tools, hard water, and a forecast that can’t make up its mind, and my strands find endless new ways to rebel against me.
    — Valeriya Chupinina, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Just weeks after the experiment ended, a prison uprising at Attica Correctional Facility in New York was thwarted with deadly force, resulting in 43 deaths.
    — Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026
  • France's post-revolution history is not a solid story of protests and reforms, but of cycles of popular uprisings, repression, mobilization and political concessions.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Her widowed aunt plays chaperone as Susanna attends heady lectures and repulses her many suitors.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Young people just aren’t interested, partly because they’re repulsed by bodily fluids.
    — Marta Balaga, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Its leader, Sergei Mironov, 73, once gained headlines by posing with a symbol of brutality — a sledgehammer given to him by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late Wagner mercenary leader shortly before his failed 2023 mutiny.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Step aboard the Grampus, a whaleship gone adrift after a storm, rations running out and a violent mutiny, and learn what happened to its ghost whalers.
    — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 16 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Reporter covering local breaking news Federal health officials are investigating a multistate salmonella outbreak that has been linked to raw oysters and sickened 27 people across a dozen states.
    — Dana Hedgpeth, Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The state’s outbreak has spread to dozens of counties, sickened over 1,200 people, and put 176 in the hospital.
    — Raj Panjabi, STAT, 21 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Within 36 hours one of the prisoners had an apparent mental breakdown, and on the second day the inmates staged a rebellion.
    — Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026
  • In their utopian reconstruction of a mythic past, the Agrarians’ polemics failed to mention the South’s legacies of slavery and rebellion.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Revolt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/revolt. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

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