1
as in radicals
a person who favors rapid and sweeping changes especially in laws and methods of government
after the collapse of the Russian monarchy, the moderate socialists briefly governed until being overthrown by the Bolshevik revolutionaries
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rebels
a person who rises up against authority
at first the government was not worried about this small band of unarmed revolutionaries
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of revolutionaries
Not helping was Parliament’s passage of the Tea Act in 1773, to which revolutionaries responded by dumping tea into Boston Harbor.
—
Laurie Kellman, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026
Not helping was Parliament's passage of the Tea Act in 1773, to which revolutionaries responded by dumping tea into Boston Harbor.
—ABC News, 3 June 2026
Allen maintains that the hypocrisy of Thomas Jefferson and his brother revolutionaries regarding slavery does not negate the enduring wisdom of their words.
—Michael Kazin, The Atlantic, 3 June 2026
This despite its violent, heroic left-leaning revolutionaries and a cabal of right-wing racists with unapologetically murderous intentions.
—Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 2 June 2026
Witnessing the revolutionaries’ painful efforts to implement the seemingly straightforward principles of their Declaration of Rights reminds us that the struggle for justice is never a simple one.
—Jeremy D. Popkin, The Conversation, 28 May 2026
Perpetual identification with revolutionaries isn't great for the nation's political health.
—Evan Gottesman, Washington Post, 25 May 2026
In Paris’s 20th arrondissement, there is a park, of sorts, where the city’s greatest revolutionaries go to rot.
—Emily Cox, ARTnews.com, 22 May 2026
This revolutionary fervor culminated in both Fidel and Raúl, with roughly 140 rebel revolutionaries in tow, storming Cuba’s second-largest military installation, the Moncada Barracks, in July 1953.
—Drew Pittock, USA Today, 20 May 2026
Laurie Kellman, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026
Not helping was Parliament's passage of the Tea Act in 1773, to which revolutionaries responded by dumping tea into Boston Harbor.
—ABC News, 3 June 2026
Allen maintains that the hypocrisy of Thomas Jefferson and his brother revolutionaries regarding slavery does not negate the enduring wisdom of their words.
—Michael Kazin, The Atlantic, 3 June 2026
This despite its violent, heroic left-leaning revolutionaries and a cabal of right-wing racists with unapologetically murderous intentions.
—Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 2 June 2026
Witnessing the revolutionaries’ painful efforts to implement the seemingly straightforward principles of their Declaration of Rights reminds us that the struggle for justice is never a simple one.
—Jeremy D. Popkin, The Conversation, 28 May 2026
Perpetual identification with revolutionaries isn't great for the nation's political health.
—Evan Gottesman, Washington Post, 25 May 2026
In Paris’s 20th arrondissement, there is a park, of sorts, where the city’s greatest revolutionaries go to rot.
—Emily Cox, ARTnews.com, 22 May 2026
This revolutionary fervor culminated in both Fidel and Raúl, with roughly 140 rebel revolutionaries in tow, storming Cuba’s second-largest military installation, the Moncada Barracks, in July 1953.
—Drew Pittock, USA Today, 20 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for revolutionaries
Noun
-
The actor got his start on Family Ties, an '80s sitcom about the Keaton family, whose matriarch and patriarch were once 1960s radicals now attempting to raise their Reagan-era children in suburbia.—
Rebecca Aizin,
PEOPLE,
9 June 2026
-
Increasingly, however, that tent seems to have room for radicals and ideological extremists while pushing out Democrats who think independently.—
Doug Friednash,
Denver Post,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
Cuba’s nationalization wave began soon after Fidel Castro’s rebels took control of the island in 1959.—
Max Saltman,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
-
Gangs, rebels, and soldiers started massacring elephants, sometimes from military helicopters.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
The security situation in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso has worsened recently, analysts say, with a record number of attacks by Islamic extremists.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 June 2026
-
Increasingly, however, that tent seems to have room for radicals and ideological extremists while pushing out Democrats who think independently.—
Doug Friednash,
Denver Post,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
After Daft Punk’s rise from underground dance music heroes to chart-topping pop insurgents, Bangalter followed different muses in different directions.—
Andy Battaglia,
ARTnews.com,
8 June 2026
-
That legacy includes crushing both hyperinflation and the Maoist insurgents of the Shining Path, who bathed Peru in blood in the 1980s and 1990s.—
Simeon Tegel,
NPR,
6 June 2026
Noun
-
In July 1936, anarchists set fire to the church’s crypt and broke into the architect’s workshop before destroying many of his plans and plaster models.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
8 June 2026
-
But divining Gaudí's intentions has required detective work, because during the Spanish Civil War, anarchists protesting the Catholic Church set fire to parts of the structure, and smashed Gaudí's models into 8,000 pieces.—
Seth Doane,
CBS News,
7 June 2026
Noun
-
Actually, there was a good reason, and the reason was that those crazies over at CBS were airing this season up to SIX NIGHTS A WEEK!—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 June 2026
-
Had enough listening to crazies.—
Neil Senturia,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Revolutionaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/revolutionaries. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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