counterrevolutionary

[koun-ter-rev-uh-loo-shuh-ner-ee]

adjective

1. characteristic of or resulting from a counterrevolution.

2. opposing a revolution or revolutionary government.

noun

plural

counterrevolutionaries 

1. Also counterrevolutionist a person who advocates or engages in a counterrevolution.

Word History and Origins

Origin of counterrevolutionary¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; counterrevolution + -ary

Example Sentences

At the time, the United States was supporting a group known as the Contras, a counterrevolutionary force that sought to overthrow Nicaragua’s left-wing Sandinista government.

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“He has been called a counterrevolutionary by counterrevolutionaries,” Mr. Niehaus said, adding that the A.N.C.’s current leaders “are those who sold out our liberation struggle. This is the last kick of a dying horse.”

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His younger brother called his win “the crystallization of counterrevolutionary impulses” and often referred to James as “the sainted junior senator from New York.”

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Then, after the Communist takeover, officials began to attack religion as counterrevolutionary, especially during the 1966-1976 period of political upheaval known as the Cultural Revolution.

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As many Americans debated and eventually soured on the Vietnam War, some scholars began to question whether the United States had become a counterrevolutionary power committed to the defense of a global status quo.

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Related Words

• archconservative 
• regressive 
• rightist 
• ultraconservative