revolutionary

1 of 2

adjective

rev·​o·​lu·​tion·​ary ˌre-və-ˈlü-shə-ˌner-ē How to pronounce revolutionary (audio)
1
a
: of, relating to, or constituting a revolution
revolutionary war
b
: tending to or promoting revolution
c
: constituting or bringing about a major or fundamental change
a revolutionary new product
2
capitalized : of or relating to the American Revolution or to the period in which it occurred
revolutionarily adverb
revolutionariness noun

revolutionary

2 of 2

noun

plural revolutionaries
1
: one engaged in a revolution
2
: an advocate or adherent of revolutionary doctrines

Examples of revolutionary in a Sentence

Adjective a candidate with a lot of crazy, revolutionary ideas that no one seems to be going for revolutionary forces that were soundly defeated before reaching the capital Noun after the collapse of the Russian monarchy, the moderate socialists briefly governed until being overthrown by the Bolshevik revolutionaries at first the government was not worried about this small band of unarmed revolutionaries
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Adjective
In 1961, the CIA was planning the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba to topple Fidel Castro’s revolutionary government, but the Joint Chiefs of Staff considered the chance of success to be just 30 percent—that is, a 70 percent chance of failure. David Spiegelhalter, WIRED, 1 Dec. 2024 There’s a point near the start of Che Guevara’s classic travelogue The Motorcycle Diaries when the young Marxist revolutionary crosses from his native Argentina into the unknown wilderness of Chilean Patagonia. Mark Johanson, Robb Report, 30 Nov. 2024
Noun
Adorno and Benjamin were, however, far from political revolutionaries. Thomas Meaney, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024 Some of his popularity stems from his revered father, Chokwe Lumumba, a civil rights activist, who was known on a national stage for calling for reparations, representing Black revolutionaries and successfully defending Tupac Shakur against assault charges. Bracey Harris, NBC News, 19 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for revolutionary 

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

revolution + -ary entry 2

Noun

revolution + -ary entry 1, after French révolutionnaire

First Known Use

Adjective

1718, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1850, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of revolutionary was in 1718

Dictionary Entries Near revolutionary

Cite this Entry

“Revolutionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/revolutionary. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

revolutionary

adjective
rev·​o·​lu·​tion·​ary
ˌrev-ə-ˈlü-shə-ˌner-ē
1
a
: of, relating to, or involving a revolution
revolutionary war
b
: favoring revolution
c
: being or bringing about a big or important change
a revolutionary new product
2
capitalized : of or relating to the American Revolution
revolutionary noun

More from Merriam-Webster on revolutionary

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