revisionism

American  

[ri-vizh-uh-niz-uhm] / rɪˈvɪʒ əˌnɪz əm /

noun

1. advocacy or approval of revision.

2. any departure from Marxist doctrine, theory, or practice, especially the tendency to favor reform above revolutionary change.

3. a departure from any authoritative or generally accepted doctrine, theory, practice, etc.

---

revisionism British  

/ rɪˈvɪʒəˌnɪzəm /

noun

1. (sometimes capital)

   1. a moderate, nonrevolutionary version of Marxism developed in Germany around 1900

   2. (in Marxist-Leninist ideology) any dangerous departure from the true interpretation of Marx's teachings

2. the advocacy of revision of some political theory, religious doctrine, historical or critical interpretation, etc

3. (usually capital) an ultra-nationalist form of Zionism that arose in Palestine in the 1940s

---

Other Word Forms

• revisionist noun

Etymology

Origin of revisionism

First recorded in 1900–05; revision + -ism

Example Sentences

“Now I Surrender,” a pendant work of revisionism that centers on Geronimo’s defiance and defeat, is a longer, more complicated novel.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

Many selected books evoke the greatest anxieties of our time, from government-sanctioned historical revisionism to the ongoing proliferation of AI.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

In a statement, organisers of the rallies decried the "violence, historical revisionism, and intimidation" of the past months, as the crowds marched with banners and signs.

From Barron's • Dec. 1, 2025

“We adamantly reject any attempt to diminish, misrepresent, or justify antisemitism, Nazi crimes against humanity or historical revisionism vis-à-vis the Holocaust,” the letter added.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 13, 2023

Particularly vexing to Meggers was that some of the same people who demanded minutely detailed proof for pre-Clovis sites had cheerfully accepted Roosevelt’s revisionism about Marajo.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• blasphemy
• fallacy