revolt

American  

[ri-vohlt] / rɪˈvoʊlt /

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 byfrom ).

   He revolts from eating meat.

3. to rebel in feeling (usually followed byagainst ).

   to revolt against parental authority.

4. to feel horror or aversion (usually followed byat ).

   to revolt at the sight of blood.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to affect with disgust or abhorrence.

   Such low behavior revolts me.

noun

1. the act of revolting; an insurrection or rebellion.

   Synonyms:

   putsch, disorder, uprising

2. an expression or movement of spirited protest or dissent.

   a voter revolt at the polls.

revolt British  

/ rɪˈvəʊlt /

noun

1. a rebellion or uprising against authority

2. in the process or state of rebelling

---

verb

1. (intr) to rise up in rebellion against authority

2. (usually passive) to feel or cause to feel revulsion, disgust, or abhorrence

Other Word Forms

• revolter
  noun
• unrevolted
  adjective

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.

Example Sentences

Appeared in the November 7, 2025, print edition as 'The Property Tax Revolt in Texas'.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 2025

“When I got with him, he was just a man,” Yung Miami said in the Thursday episode, adding that she helped Combs take his various business ventures, including his Revolt media company, “up a notch.”

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 9, 2024

Revolt didn’t disclose how much Combs was paid for his stake in the hip-hop news and entertainment company, which he founded in 2013.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 4, 2024

According to NPR, the first time the keffiyeh was used as a political statement was during the Arab Revolt in Palestine in 1936.

From Salon • May 1, 2024

The Peasants’ Revolt in the 1380s had as one of its slogans an appeal to Biblical authority: “When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the Gentleman?”

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Related Words

• defection
• insurgency
• insurrection
• mutiny
• rebellion
• revolution