revolt
Americanverb (used without object)
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revolts,
present (3rd person singular)
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revolted,
past participle, past
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revolting
present participle
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to break away from or rise against constituted authority, as by open rebellion; cast off allegiance or subjection to those in authority; rebel; mutiny.
to revolt against the present government.
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to turn away in mental rebellion, utter disgust, or abhorrence (usually followed byfrom ).
He revolts from eating meat.
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to rebel in feeling (usually followed byagainst ).
to revolt against parental authority.
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to feel horror or aversion (usually followed byat ).
to revolt at the sight of blood.
verb (used with object)
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revolts,
present (3rd person singular)
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revolted,
past participle, past
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revolting
present participle
noun
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a rebellion or uprising against authority
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in the process or state of rebelling
verb
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(intr) to rise up in rebellion against authority
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(usually passive) to feel or cause to feel revulsion, disgust, or abhorrence
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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revoltsimple
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revoltssimple
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have revoltedperfect
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has revoltedperfect
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am revoltingprogressive
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are revoltingprogressive
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is revoltingprogressive
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have been revoltingperfect progressive
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has been revoltingperfect progressive
Past
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revoltedsimple
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had revoltedperfect
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was revoltingprogressive
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were revoltingprogressive
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had been revoltingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of revolt
1540–50; (v.) < Middle French revolter < Italian rivoltare to turn around < Vulgar Latin *revolvitāre, frequentative of Latin revolvere to roll back, unroll, revolve; (noun) < French révolte < Italian rivolta, derivative of rivoltare
Explanation
Revolt means to rise up against an authority in an act of rebellion. You might see an opposition group revolt against a government, or you might revolt against your oppressive 10:00 curfew. Revolt has a noun form as well to describe that kind of rebellious uprising. Your revolt is successful if you get permission to stay out past 11:00. Revolt can also mean to disgust or sicken, either physically or in terms of your sensibilities. Your stomach may revolt at the idea of eating cauliflower again. You could combine the two meanings of revolt if you stage a revolt in the kitchen to stop from having to eat vegetables that revolt you.
Vocabulary lists containing revolt
"The Sniper" by Liam O’Flaherty
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"Revolution 2.0," Vocabulary from the memoir
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"When Cultures Meet"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The life Mr. Meyer reconstructs reads as a sustained revolt against the power of categories to diminish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
This heaps yet more pressure on the beleaguered Fifa president Gianni Infantino, and is further evidence that the revolt against him over the FFE saga is being driven by Uefa.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Evangelical leaders “helped to organize the Populist revolt of the 1880s and 1890s” and others “urged Texans to see the sins of our economic system,” he said.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026
Now, the nation’s tech hub also sits at the center of an intense and growing revolt against its ability to cause harm and replace humans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Ptolemy IV Philopater hazarded the use of native Egyptian troops at Raphia, and won the battle with their help; just a few years later, native mercenaries in Thebes used their hard-won martial skills to revolt.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
The numbers are far from the peaks reached in 2011, when tens of thousands arrived in just a few months as maritime border controls disintegrated during the Arab Spring revolts.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
Property-tax revolts have erupted around the country in recent years as homeowners’ tax bills have climbed along with home values.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
It was also a time when various European empires were reaching their peak yet faced republican or nationalistic revolts.
From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2026
While ghastly even by ancient standards, these measures served only to make the Helots hate the Spartans even more, all but guaranteeing future Helot revolts and worsening Spartan paranoia.
From Slate ● Jan. 16, 2024
I fledged in San Francisco, climbed its hills, slept in its parks, worked on its docks, marched and shouted in its revolts.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
When visiting fans discover ranch, most love it, some hate it and others are revolted by it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Within weeks of the election, roughly three-quarters of the TMC's legislators revolted against both Banerjee and her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, widely seen as her heir.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
No longer able to afford the staple of their diet, the Egyptian people revolted.
From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026
Newman became one of reality television’s more memorable villains thanks to her run on “The Apprentice,” where her Machiavellian ways and unapologetic ambition revolted viewers and impressed her fake boss.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
These were Knights of the Sassenach, they were thinking—for they could tell by the armour—and, if so, knights of that very King Arthur against whom their own king had for the second time revolted.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Each individual set piece is its own jewel of craftsmanship, usually combining the revolting with the amusing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
Across Southern California, residents are revolting against bright LEDs.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
The new policy is an attempt to be “flexible” as situations change, the company said, but some shareholders appear to be revolting.
From Barron's ● May 5, 2026
Maybe it was the underbelly of all of the bravado and power-seeking—some desire to counter all the validation with the humiliation of knowing that, deep down, he’s just a revolting little worm.
From Slate ● Apr. 15, 2026
The shadowy walls were lined with shelves of large glass jars, in which floated all manner of revolting things Harry didn’t really want to know the name of at the moment.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
