REVOLUTIONARIES Synonyms: 49 Similar and Opposite Words

revolutionaries

noun

plural of revolutionary

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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

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 revolutionaries Centrist Democrats are not socialists, not revolutionaries, and not disposed to blame Zionist conspiracies for every trouble in American life, including police brutality and urban gentrification. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 19 Aug. 2026 To make matters worse, ten days later, revolutionaries stormed the Bastille. — Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026 Huey Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, published a statement supporting the women’s and gay liberation movements as fellow revolutionaries. — USA Today, 4 Aug. 2026 Trump is starving the machine that creates America's socialist revolutionaries. — FOXNews.com, 28 July 2026 In 1792, French revolutionaries arrested and imprisoned King Louis XVI; he would be executed by guillotine the following January. — ABC News, 28 July 2026 The monarchy was overthrown in the February Revolution of 1917, and the tsar and his family became prisoners of the revolutionaries. — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 July 2026 Good luck with that message in flyover country when the revolutionaries don’t enjoy the advantages of light-turnout primaries. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026 Or was July 4, 1776, for the revolutionaries who founded the US, actually an undistinguished day? — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 3 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for revolutionaries

Noun

During the nineteenth century, an older form of abolitionism was led by Black radicals.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 July 2026
In the early days of the republic, there were many radicals and reformers who shared my suspicion that patriotism was an evasion, substituting songs and speeches about liberty for the reality.

— Dominic Erdozain, Time, 3 July 2026

Definition of radicals

Noun

Al-Sharaa ousted President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 in an offensive led by HTS rebels.

— Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026
The designation remained throughout the rule of his son Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled by rebels led by current President Ahmed al-Sharaa in December 2024.

— Reuters, NBC news, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of rebels

Noun

Spinks has spent years investigating and documenting nihilistic violent extremists and reported Spitze’s concerning online footprint to law enforcement.

— Hudson Crozier, The Washington Examiner, 20 Aug. 2026
With a real-world legal event like the SPLC indictment, extremists can point to government action as evidence that their worldview is being validated.

— Art Jipson, The Conversation, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of extremists

Noun

Israel, meanwhile, has remained suspicious of the new authorities in Damascus, led by former Islamist insurgents.

— Andrew Wilks, Los Angeles Times, 22 Aug. 2026
In both races, the two incumbents faced insurgents who ran under the democratic socialist banner with campaigns that emphasized universal health care, cost-of-living concerns and opposition to Israel.

— Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of insurgents

Noun

Indeed, antisemitisms prove that a society can hold contradictory images simultaneously, such as the fact that the Jews are both anarchists out to destroy capitalism as well as capitalists out to exploit the working class.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 July 2026
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

Definition of anarchists

Browse Nearby Words

revolution

revolutionaries

revolutionary

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Revolutionaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/revolutionaries. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of revolutionaries

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

southpaw

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words

Popular in Wordplay

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Games & Quizzes