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revolt

[ri-vohlt]
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verb (used without object)
  1. 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.
  2. to turn away in mental rebellion, utter disgust, or abhorrence (usually followed by from): He revolts from eating meat.
  3. to rebel in feeling (usually followed by against): to revolt against parental authority.
  4. to feel horror or aversion (usually followed by at): to revolt at the sight of blood.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to affect with disgust or abhorrence: Such low behavior revolts me.
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noun
  1. the act of revolting; an insurrection or rebellion.
  2. an expression or movement of spirited protest or dissent: a voter revolt at the polls.
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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
Related formsre·volt·er, nounun·re·volt·ed, adjective
Can be confusedrebellion revolt revolution

Synonyms

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6. uprising, disorder, putsch.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for revolt

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Mrs. Page could not get back of Harriet's revolt to its cause.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • The mind of Chief Inspector Heat was inaccessible to ideas of revolt.

    The Secret Agent

    Joseph Conrad

  • Injustice has always roused me to revolt, and injustice was certainly having its fling.

    My Double Life

    Sarah Bernhardt

  • There was not a word of gratitude to this man, not a murmur of vengeance nor of revolt.

    My Double Life

    Sarah Bernhardt

  • The essential elements of our poetry will be courage, audacity, and revolt.

    Alarms and Discursions

    G. K. Chesterton

British Dictionary definitions for revolt

revolt

noun
  1. a rebellion or uprising against authority
  2. in revolt in the process or state of rebelling
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verb
  1. (intr) to rise up in rebellion against authority
  2. (usually passive) to feel or cause to feel revulsion, disgust, or abhorrence
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Derived Formsrevolter, noun

Word Origin

C16: from French révolter to revolt, from Old Italian rivoltare to overturn, ultimately from Latin revolvere to roll back, revolve
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for revolt

v.

1540s, from Middle French revolter (15c.), from Italian rivoltare "to overthrow, overturn," from Vulgar Latin *revolvitare "to overturn, overthrow," frequentative of Latin revolvere (past participle revolutus) "turn, roll back" (see revolve). Related: Revolted; revolting.

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n.

1550s, from Middle French révolte (c.1500), back formation from revolter (see revolt (v.)), or else from Italian rivolta.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper