revolutionist
Americannoun
adjective
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of revolutionist
First recorded in 1700–10; revolution + -ist
Explanation
Whether you’re overthrowing a government or protesting an unjust law, you could be called a revolutionist, someone who works for political or social change. A revolutionist is someone who wants to change the world — not just sitting around talking about it, but actually doing something to bring about change. Like its synonyms revolutionary and radical, a revolutionist is someone who questions authority, maybe by taking part in a demonstration to protest a government policy or by otherwise pointing out thing that he or she believes is wrong with society — then acting to try to fix it.
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.
US President Thomas Jefferson, revolutionist Francis Lewis and Griffith Jenkin Griffith, "one of the true pioneers of Los Angeles", are also given an honourable mention by Rhys thanks to their Welsh ancestry.
From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026
Here, I’m out there being a revolutionist for everybody else.
From The Guardian • Jun. 23, 2019
I am not a revolutionist, but I do hold the deaths of every soldier as they fought for the freedoms in the constitution dear. globalgamble JJ_Bronco It sounds like you are doing the same thing.
From Time • Dec. 21, 2012
An obituary in The New York Times described her as “an incorrigible revolutionist to the end.”
From New York Times • Nov. 17, 2012
They talked of a revolutionist who had recently been arrested and to whom they referred as “Alexandre.”
From The White Terror and The Red A novel of revolutionary Russia by Cahan, Abraham
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.
