revolutionary
Americanadjective
-
of, pertaining to, characterized by, or of the nature of a revolution, or a sudden, complete, or marked change.
a revolutionary junta.
-
radically new or innovative; outside or beyond established procedure, principles, etc..
a revolutionary discovery.
- Synonyms:
- unorthodox, drastic, novel, unprecedented
-
(initial capital letter) of or relating to the American Revolution or to the period contemporaneous with it in U.S. history.
Revolutionary heroes; Revolutionary weapons.
noun
plural
revolutionariesnoun
adjective
-
relating to or characteristic of a revolution
-
advocating or engaged in revolution
-
radically new or different
a revolutionary method of making plastics
-
rotating or revolving
adjective
-
of or relating to the conflict or period of the War of American Independence (1775–83)
-
of or relating to any of various other Revolutions, esp the Russian Revolution (1917) or the French Revolution (1789)
Other Word Forms
- antirevolutionary noun
- nonrevolutionary adjective
- post-Revolutionary adjective
- prerevolutionary adjective
- prorevolutionary adjective
- revolutionarily adverb
- revolutionariness noun
- semirevolutionary adjective
- ultrarevolutionary adjective
- unrevolutionary adjective
Etymology
Origin of revolutionary
First recorded in 1765–75; revolution + -ary
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.
Corruption has drained the revolutionary fervor that sustained the state’s legitimacy.
I’d say of 500, two or three were generally negative, and 497 were very excited about seeing one of the most revolutionary AI products they had ever seen before.
From Barron's
Banks had cachet to burn, which made her proposal to challenge the fashion industry’s idea of beauty by finding the next great model via a reality TV competition revolutionary.
From Salon
In a time where every “smart” device is marketed with dizzying arrays of features, that simplicity can feel downright revolutionary.
From Los Angeles Times
As the son of a revolutionary elder, Xi began his career in a plum posting at the heart of the defense establishment.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
