revolutionary

[rev-uh-loo-shuh-ner-ee]

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, characterized by, or of the nature of a revolution, or a sudden, complete, or marked change.

   a revolutionary junta.

2. radically new or innovative; outside or beyond established procedure, principles, etc..

   a revolutionary discovery.

   Synonyms: unorthodox, drastic, novel, unprecedented

3. (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.

4. revolving.

noun

plural

revolutionaries 

1. a revolutionist.

revolutionary

¹

/ ˌrɛvəˈluːʃənərɪ /

noun

1. a person who advocates or engages in revolution

adjective

1. relating to or characteristic of a revolution

2. advocating or engaged in revolution

3. radically new or different

   a revolutionary method of making plastics

4. rotating or revolving

Revolutionary

²

/ ˌrɛvəˈluːʃənərɪ /

adjective

1. of or relating to the conflict or period of the War of American Independence (1775–83)

2. of or relating to any of various other Revolutions, esp the Russian Revolution (1917) or the French Revolution (1789)

Other Word Forms

• revolutionarily adverb
• revolutionariness noun
• antirevolutionary noun
• nonrevolutionary adjective
• post-Revolutionary adjective
• prerevolutionary adjective
• prorevolutionary adjective
• semirevolutionary adjective
• ultrarevolutionary adjective
• unrevolutionary adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of revolutionary¹

First recorded in 1765–75; revolution + -ary

Example Sentences

“We have no intention of being revolutionary in this endeavor, just incremental and smart,” he said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

At the time, despite Picasso’s global renown, few collectors had the mettle for the revolutionary but difficult Cubist epoch.

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It is hard to overstate how revolutionary this is.

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That in and of itself isn’t a bad thing, he admits, and will look prudent if AI does prove as revolutionary as quickly as proponents believe.

Read more on Barron's

The song finds its origins in Irish revolutionary James Connolly’s proto-feminist assertion that “the female worker is the slave of the slave.”

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• contemporary 
• innovative 
• modern 
• radical