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• revolutionary
  revolutionary

  adjective

  of, pertaining to, characterized by, or of the nature of a revolution, or a sudden, complete, or marked change.
• Revolutionary
  Revolutionary

  adjective

  of or relating to the conflict or period of the War of American Independence (1775–83)

revolutionary

American  

[rev-uh-loo-shuh-ner-ee] / ˌrɛv əˈlu ʃəˌnɛr i /

adjective

1. 

   of, pertaining to, characterized by, or of the nature of a revolution, or a sudden, complete, or marked change.

   a revolutionary junta.

2. radically new or innovative; outside or beyond established procedure, principles, etc..

   a revolutionary discovery.

   Synonyms:

   unorthodox, drastic, novel, unprecedented

3. (initial capital letter) of or relating to the American Revolution or to the period contemporaneous with it in U.S. history.

   Revolutionary heroes; Revolutionary weapons.

4. revolving.

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noun

• revolutionaries
  plural

1. a revolutionist.

revolutionary ¹ British  

/ ˌrɛvəˈluːʃənərɪ /

noun

1. a person who advocates or engages in revolution

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adjective

1. relating to or characteristic of a revolution

2. advocating or engaged in revolution

3. radically new or different

   a revolutionary method of making plastics

4. rotating or revolving

Revolutionary ² British  

/ ˌrɛvəˈluːʃənərɪ /

adjective

1. of or relating to the conflict or period of the War of American Independence (1775–83)

2. of or relating to any of various other Revolutions, esp the Russian Revolution (1917) or the French Revolution (1789)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antirevolutionary
  noun
• revolutionariness
  noun
• nonrevolutionary
  adjective
• post-Revolutionary
  adjective
• prerevolutionary
  adjective
• prorevolutionary
  adjective
• semirevolutionary
  adjective
• ultrarevolutionary
  adjective
• unrevolutionary
  adjective
• revolutionarily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• revolutionaries
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of revolutionary

First recorded in 1765–75; revolution + -ary

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Explanation

A revolutionary person fearlessly advocates radical change. Revolutionary people and ideas challenge the status quo and might be violent or willing to upset the natural order to achieve their goals. Like the word revolve, it's all about turning things around. Revolutionary leaders want to change the world by any means necessary. Before he was the coolest face on a T-shirt, Che Guevara was ready to die for change in South America (and in fact, he did). You don't need to be violent to be revolutionary, just ask Gandhi and Rev. Martin Luther King. You don't even need to be political. Alexander McQueen, John Lennon, and Picasso could tell you that.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

revolutionary Revolutionary revolutionaries

Le Ngoc Mai Uyen was a frequent visitor to the park named after her grandmother, revolutionary fighter Le Thi Rieng, before she realised her relative's body may be buried there.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

It follows the ‘70s and ‘80s East L.A. revolutionary art group Asco and the next generation of L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

The three belligerent empires were destroyed by the war, replaced by revolutionary regimes and a string of new nation-states.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

While stressing that psilocybin is not a cure for cancer, he describes its potential impact on some patients as "revolutionary".

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

But the conflict within the American revolutionary generation remained a passionate yet bloodless affair in which the energies released by national independence did not devour its own children.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

The militants began building up positions threatening the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb in several locations, deploying missiles and radars with help from Revolutionary Guard officers inside Yemen, people briefed on regional intelligence said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said a ship hit naval mines and sank while passing through what they called an "unauthorised" route in the Strait of Hormuz.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Her father, a military commander, is killed by the British Army during the French Revolutionary Wars of the late 18th century, and her mother dies during childbirth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

The Isfahan Revolutionary Court dismissed his application to appeal and relatives were summoned for a final meeting.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

There were several Red Guard Committee members and key people from the propaganda group, along with several members of the Revolutionary Performance Team and the Mao Ze-dong Thought Study Group.

From "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" by Ji-li Jiang

Skopje is a city of statues, two or three hundred of them apparently, great big things in squares and in fountains commemorating tsars and dames, emperors and warriors, royalty and revolutionaries.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

“O Canada” is as soaring as “God Save the King,” while revolutionaries across the world have chanted “La Marseillaise” for centuries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026

Ramiro Valdés was one of the last surviving revolutionaries who took power with the Castro brothers in 1959, and his influence remained embedded in Cuba’s security apparatus almost until his death Sunday at age 94.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

"They'd love to humiliate the Castros and get one of the original revolutionaries from 1959 behind bars. But the strategic value of that is questionable."

From BBC ● May 21, 2026

Amar and Christina found them, not among the other revolutionaries near the Hancock building, but in their family apartment in the Pire, above Dauntless headquarters.

From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth

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Related Words

• contemporary
• innovative
• modern
• radical

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