revolutionaries

noun

plural of revolutionary
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

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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

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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 The revolutionaries who led the offensive dominate the seats of power in Tehran. — Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for revolutionaries
  1. radicals
  2. rebels
  3. extremists
  4. insurgents
  5. anarchists
  6. crazies
Noun
  • Once Lamb starts publishing daily dispatches about her abduction at the hands of Indo‑Trinidadian radicals demanding a ransom, the writing is on the walls that this woman is going to die.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Solar ultraviolet photons break apart bonds in molecules, creating radicals, which oxidize VOCs.
    — Michael A. Robinson, The Conversation, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of radicals
Noun
  • Saudi diplomats had notified US lawmakers in August of a breakdown in political channels with the Houthis and the rebels’ plans to escalate against the kingdom, and sought Washington’s backing to push back, the source said.
    — Becky Anderson, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Government forces have reclaimed territory from the Houthis in the provinces of Hodeida and Taiz, and attacked the rebels in the northern province of Jawf as well as the central provinces of Marib and Bayda.
    — Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of rebels
Noun
  • Studying extremists These two cases force researchers to grapple with how knowledge about violent movements is actually produced.
    — Arie Perliger, The Conversation, 31 Aug. 2026
  • But the settler violence has shown itself to be more widespread than a small band of extremists.
    — Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of extremists
Noun
  • Many of the 9/11 hijackers, for instance, initially went to Afghanistan with the intention to acquire skills and connections before traveling onward to Chechnya to fight alongside Chechen insurgents against Russian security forces.
    — Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The insecurity landscape is also more chaotic because some groups, after initially being invited to help defend against insurgents, turned into terrorists, said Dengiyefa Angalapu, an analyst at the Center for Democracy and Development in Abuja.
    — Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of insurgents
Noun
  • Something common to the plans and schemes of crypto-anarchists is a certain Rube Goldberg fussiness.
    — Finn Brunton, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of anarchists
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
Definition of crazies

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Cite this Entry

“Revolutionaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/revolutionaries. Accessed 11 Sep. 2026.

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