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 rev·o·lu·tion·ar·ies.

1. a revolutionist.

Revolutionary

¹

/ 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)

revolutionary

²

/ 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

Derived Forms

• ˌrevoˈlutionarily, adverb

Other Words From

• revo·lution·ari·ly adverb
• revo·lution·ari·ness noun
• anti·revo·lution·ary noun plural antirevolutionaries adjective
• nonrev·o·lution·ary adjective noun plural nonrevolutionaries
• post-Rev·o·lution·ary adjective
• prerev·o·lution·ary adjective
• prorev·o·lution·ary adjective
• semi·revo·lution·ary adjective noun plural semirevolutionaries
• ultra·revo·lution·ary adjective noun plural ultrarevolutionaries
• unrev·o·lution·ary adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of revolutionary¹

First recorded in 1765–75; revolution + -ary

Example Sentences

With freaking Donald Trump now having won the presidency twice, openness is emerging to candidates who don’t feel like members of the so-called establishment—i.e. mavericks, people who have blue-collar backgrounds or those who might be considered a bit too revolutionary in the kinds of law-finance-tech circles that Kamala Harris comes from.

From Slate

In 2016 Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 46, was arrested by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard at Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran after a holiday visit, where she had taken her daughter Gabriella to see her parents.

From BBC

In 2020, to Iran’s fury but to the satisfaction of many in the Gulf Arab states, Trump ordered the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the leader of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force.

From BBC

Calling it “the worst deal in history”, he shared the views of many governments in the region that the deal, aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions, failed to tackle Iran’s ballistic missile programme while enriching the Revolutionary Guards with money then used to fund proxy militias around the region.

From BBC

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran was working through agents to kill an American journalist and plot an assassination of President-elect Donald Trump, the Department of Justice alleged in a complaint shared Friday.

From Salon

Related Words

• contemporary
• innovative
• modern
• radical