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.
Museveni studied in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in the 1960s when the university acted as a kind of revolutionary finishing school for anti-colonialists.
From Barron's
“External wars tend to strengthen revolutionary regimes in their early years, but military humiliations expose the brittleness of late-stage dictatorships.”
The multihyphenate entertainer has secured the Golden Globe for supporting actress in a motion picture for her performance as revolutionary Perfidia Beverly Hills in Paul Thomas Anderson’s black comedy “One Battle After Another.”
From Los Angeles Times
American guitarist and songwriter Bob Weir, a founding member of the revolutionary, psychedelic jam band Grateful Dead, has died aged 78, his family announced Saturday.
From Barron's
Lego says its new tech-enabled products, launching in March with a new Star Wars set, are its "most revolutionary innovation" in nearly 50 years.
From BBC
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.
