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revolutionary

revolutionary

48 5.8
A person who supports or takes part in political change to remove a government
  • noun
  • /ˌrɛvəˈluːʃənˌɛri/
translation icon : revolucionario
  • His visionary writing has influenced Latin American writers and Zapatista revolutionaries alike.
  • support revolutionaries
  • revolutionaries fighting
  • band of revolutionaries

Anti colonial revolutionaries in Nigeria mainly wrote in French.

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Examples

  • If anybody had the ears to hear what the revolutionaries wanted to say, it must be them.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • From her days in India, she remembers an idealistic young poet and revolutionary, Emile, whom she loved.

    Academic text (1994)
  • The end of history, if it does come, will not come for the revolutionaries who fight for it.

    Academic text (1992)
  • We may have different views and attitudes, but we are all revolutionaries who strive for social change.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Mick and his Arabs were caught out in the open by the revolutionaries.

  • He's a committed revolutionary, and he never seems to have let a day pass without contriving to bring about the destruction of the British Empire.

  • But Ahmadinejad also distinguished himself from his fellow revolutionaries in another regard.

    Academic text (2008)
  • By rejecting religion, the French revolutionaries rejected a fundamental part of human nature.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Baghdad fell in September, vanquished by battalions of revolutionaries rallying behind a vanguard of the dead.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Many revolutionaries risk their lives to fight for social justice in their communities.

Synonyms

insurgent
vsrevolutionary
  • Literature
93 8.6

A person who fights against the government, often as part of a small armed group

includes supporters who may act peacefully rather than fighting
radical
vsrevolutionary
79 6.3

A person who wants major political or social change

concerns active participation in major change rather than only holding ideas
red
vsrevolutionary
  • Archaic
13 9.1

A person who supports extreme left politics

is general activism for wide change, not tied to a single ideology
subversive
vsrevolutionary
5 8.1

A person who tries to weaken or remove a government

focuses on open support or direct participation in large change
revolutionist
vsrevolutionary
1 7.0

A person who takes strong action to change a government or society

has identical meaning but uses a different label
insurrectionist
vsrevolutionary
1 9.8

A person who takes part in an armed attack to try to remove a government

is broader, covering support or action beyond armed conflict
upriser
vsrevolutionary
1 9.0

A person who joins or leads a public rebellion against the government

applies to people supporting wide systemic change
subverter
vsrevolutionary
1 9.9

A person who tries to weaken a country's leaders or how society is run

is about active backing of broad transformative movements rather than covert acts
revolter
vsrevolutionary
7.9

A person who takes part in a revolt against authority

focuses on full-scale social or political transformation

Antonyms

306 4.4

A person who does not want big changes and likes traditional values

A person who strongly supports how things are and resists change

Compounds

A war from 1775 to 1783 when thirteen American colonies fought Britain for independence

A group of people who try to change or remove a government by force

A war from 1775 to 1783 when the American colonies fought to become independent from Britain

A rebel group in Sierra Leone that fought the government, took control of diamond mines and used child soldiers

A Palestinian armed group formed in 1974 that carried out attacks in other countries

A Palestinian armed group that split from the PLO in 1974 and carried out attacks in several countries

A Palestinian armed group that split from the PLO in 1974 and carried out attacks abroad

A far-left group in Turkey that attacks police and the army and opposes NATO and the United States

A far-left Greek armed group formed in 1971 to oppose the military government and capitalism

An armed group in the Philippines formed in the 1980s that split from the main communist party and used violence

A secret Italian left-wing group known for bombings in Rome between 2000 and 2002

A Japanese far-left group that carried out secret attacks

A left-wing group in Greece that carried out violent attacks and political killings

A calendar created during the French Revolution that starts on 22 September 1792 and ends in 1805

A month in the French Revolutionary calendar used in France from 1793 to 1805

An armed left-wing group in Colombia that fought the government and used kidnapping and the drug trade to fund itself

A political party in Colombia formed by former fighters after the 2016 peace talks

An armed left-wing rebel group in Peru formed in 1983 to try to overthrow the government

How Revolutionary

insurgent
  • Literature
93 8.6
revolutionary
48 5.8
activist
6 3.7
supporter
817 1.0
sympathizer
37 4.8

Surface Forms

revolutionary singular

Morphology

revolutionary = revolutionary (semi-transparent) = revolution + ary

The noun is a conversion of the adjective 'revolutionary', and its meaning is readily related to revolution, though the agentive noun use is a step beyond the basic adjective meaning.

Etymology

The word revolutionary as a noun comes from re- 'back' and volvere 'to turn', the same root as revolve. So a revolutionary is a person who helps 'turn' the government or society into something new.