revolt
Americanverb (used without object)
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revolts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
revolted,
past participle, past
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revolting
present participle
-
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.
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to turn away in mental rebellion, utter disgust, or abhorrence (usually followed byfrom ).
He revolts from eating meat.
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to rebel in feeling (usually followed byagainst ).
to revolt against parental authority.
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to feel horror or aversion (usually followed byat ).
to revolt at the sight of blood.
verb (used with object)
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revolts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
revolted,
past participle, past
-
revolting
present participle
noun
-
a rebellion or uprising against authority
-
in the process or state of rebelling
verb
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(intr) to rise up in rebellion against authority
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(usually passive) to feel or cause to feel revulsion, disgust, or abhorrence
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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revoltsimple
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revoltssimple
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have revoltedperfect
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has revoltedperfect
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am revoltingprogressive
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are revoltingprogressive
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is revoltingprogressive
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have been revoltingperfect progressive
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has been revoltingperfect progressive
Past
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revoltedsimple
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had revoltedperfect
-
was revoltingprogressive
-
were revoltingprogressive
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had been revoltingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing revolt
"The Sniper" by Liam O’Flaherty
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"Revolution 2.0," Vocabulary from the memoir
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"When Cultures Meet"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The revolt was launched in June 1916 by Hussein bin Ali, the emir of Mecca.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
When the district announced the ban on Facebook last month, there were rumors of a student revolt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
The ploughman wants to play by the rules, but it’s how the revolt plays out that radicalizes him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
A fourth plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field after a passenger revolt.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
Ptolemy IV Philopater hazarded the use of native Egyptian troops at Raphia, and won the battle with their help; just a few years later, native mercenaries in Thebes used their hard-won martial skills to revolt.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
The numbers are far from the peaks reached in 2011, when tens of thousands arrived in just a few months as maritime border controls disintegrated during the Arab Spring revolts.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
It was also a time when various European empires were reaching their peak yet faced republican or nationalistic revolts.
From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2026
There are, of course, legitimate disabilities that call for accommodation, but the Gen Xer in me revolts at the way everything has been pathologized and turned into a condition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
Speaking to other militia members who joined the revolts of Bundy and his father, The Atlantic found that Ammon was an outlier in his own community.
From Salon ● Feb. 2, 2026
Since January he’d been working at home, trying to complete the final chapters of his dissertation on agrarian revolts in India.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
There was one heavily affected community that revolted whenever the group tried to enter.
From Slate ● Jun. 9, 2026
Within weeks of the election, roughly three-quarters of the TMC's legislators revolted against both Banerjee and her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, widely seen as her heir.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
No longer able to afford the staple of their diet, the Egyptian people revolted.
From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026
When consumers revolted against excessive costs and volumes dipped, companies like PepsiCo and General Mills pivoted to aggressive promotions to regain market share.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
On-screen me shows up and sniffs at it and then makes a revolted face.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
Some rancid wine that tasted like "salty bin juice", according to comedian Joanne McNally, topped off possibly the most revolting task yet.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Across Southern California, residents are revolting against bright LEDs.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
The new policy is an attempt to be “flexible” as situations change, the company said, but some shareholders appear to be revolting.
From Barron's ● May 5, 2026
I think it may be the single most revolting pedicure in the history of film.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
Fifteen years of regret at not having a son had become the bitterness of finally having one in the most revolting circumstances.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
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