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.
Magyar's slogan dates back to a revolutionary poet's 19th Century rallying cry to rise up for the homeland.
From BBC
Malling called Public’s new agents a “fundamental shift” in how individual investors will manage their portfolio—one he thinks will prove as revolutionary for retail traders as the introduction of computers or mobile-phone stock trading.
To him, presenting “Fiddler on the Roof” in Yiddish is revolutionary, as is “John Proctor Is the Villain’s” dissection of a classic through a feminist lens.
From Los Angeles Times
A Finnish startup claims to have perfected a revolutionary new battery.
The old revolutionary story has grown brittle, feeble.
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.
