1
as in radical
being very far from the center of public opinion
a candidate with a lot of crazy, revolutionary ideas that no one seems to be going for
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in insurgent
taking part in a rebellion
revolutionary forces that were soundly defeated before reaching the capital
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in rebel
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in revolutionist
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 revolutionary
Tanaya MacHeel, CNBC, 8 Apr. 2026
During the confrontation, Hussein and his followers were massacred, but the imam’s quest for justice became a defining value of Shiite identity, fostering a sense of revolutionary duty to fight oppressors at any cost.
—Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2026
Albert Samaha, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2026
Fidel Castro, either wanting to protect his family’s privacy or maintain the mystique of a revolutionary who only had time for his country, never publicly disclosed the family.
—Patrick Oppmann, CNN Money, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for revolutionary
Adjective
The article identifies 55-year-old Adam Back — the CEO of Blockstream, a prominent cryptographer and early figure in the bitcoin community — as the strongest candidate to be the founder of the revolutionary digital currency system, introduced in 2008.
—Tanaya MacHeel, CNBC, 8 Apr. 2026
During the confrontation, Hussein and his followers were massacred, but the imam’s quest for justice became a defining value of Shiite identity, fostering a sense of revolutionary duty to fight oppressors at any cost.
—Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2026
Noun
The game happened to be on November 18th, the anniversary of Haitian revolutionaries defeating the French Army in 1803 before declaring independence.
—Albert Samaha, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2026
Fidel Castro, either wanting to protect his family’s privacy or maintain the mystique of a revolutionary who only had time for his country, never publicly disclosed the family.
—Patrick Oppmann, CNN Money, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for revolutionary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for revolutionary
Adjective
-
Showing an new indie film in theaters rather than taking the more common route of going directly to a streaming service or video on demand or even the regional film festival circuit is a rather radical move these days.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
9 Apr. 2026
-
The crowd at an event for James Fishback, a Florida gubernatorial candidate, who, like many other young conservatives, considers MAGA insufficiently radical.—
Ian Crouch,
New Yorker,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
So the insurgent vibe is now directed in a different direction.—
Katie Drummond,
Wired News,
24 Mar. 2026
-
The pressure on Mamdani will be intense, as his administration will be seen nationwide as a barometer of the insurgent socialist movement's ability to govern.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
31 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Following the events of A Palace Near the Wind, Liu Lufeng and her siblings flee the Palace for the dangerous waters, which contain rebels, allies, and her sister Sangshu—though Sangshu’s conflicting loyalties may clash with Lufeng’s plan to keep them all safe.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
-
An Iranian missile struck a fuel-oil tanker in Qatari waters Wednesday morning, while Houthi rebels launched a third barrage of missiles toward Israel.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
But that was extreme, that was a different level.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Say goodbye to back pain and sore muscles with the Chirp Wheel XR 3-Pack, your at-home toolkit for extreme relief.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
On June 15, 1215, rebellious nobles compelled King John of England to sign the Magna Carta.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The 8-episode first season charts the improbable ascent of Joe and Rose Kennedy and their nine children, including rebellious second son Jack, who struggles to escape the shadow of his golden boy older brother.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The collection drew inspiration from two seemingly distant sources: a still-life painting of a shirt collar by Joe Brainard, the prolific 1960s New York writer and artist, and a short story by Yu Dafu, the early 20th-century Chinese author and revolutionist.—
Denni Hu,
Footwear News,
17 Oct. 2025
-
In a country shackled and scarred by race, religion, gender, and class, much of that rationalized and reified by mainline American churches, the Disciples were genial revolutionists offering inclusion, education, and empowerment for those at the margins.—
Richard D. Mahoney,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Keep the pressure on every single one of these extremists.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Attention is turning to the new terror chief seen as an extremist pulling strings, Vahidi — a longtime Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander whose reemergence highlights a broader shift underway inside Iran’s leadership.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
That’s partially due to bandleader Caspian Honeywell’s time on the circuit in the defunct anarchist group Blackbird Raum, who jump-started the folk-punk movement almost 20 years ago.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
23 Feb. 2026
-
All were marked for assassination by an anarchist cook named Jean Crones, who spiked the soup stock with arsenic.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Revolutionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/revolutionary. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
