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Revolution and Revolt
Revolution and revolt have a shared origin, both ultimately going back to the Latin revolvere “to revolve, roll back.” When revolution first appeared in English in the 14th century, it referred to the movement of a celestial body in orbit; that sense was extended to “a progressive motion of a body around an axis,” “completion of a course,” and other senses suggesting regularity of motion or a predictable return to an original position. At virtually the same time, the word developed a sharply different meaning, namely, ”a sudden radical, or complete change,” apparently from the idea of reversal of direction implicit in the Latin verb. Revolt , which initially meant “to renounce allegiance,” grew from the same idea of “rolling back,” in this case from a prior bond of loyalty.
Synonyms
Examples of revolt in a Sentence
Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024
Hardline conservatives have revolted over the chamber’s passage of earlier stopgap funding bills and over a topline deal the speaker struck with Schumer to set spending close to $1.66 trillion overall.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2024
But the part-time New Jersey, part-time Palm Beach, FL resident told me that her family was going to revolt if this dish did not make it to her Thanksgiving table.
—Melissa Oyler, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
Politics in Brief Funding fight: House GOP hardliners revolted against the bipartisan spending deal that would avert a shutdown by tanking a procedural vote on an unrelated bill.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 11 Jan. 2024
This did not sit well with Judah's king, Jehoiakim, who revolted against the Babylonian king in 601 BCE despite being warned not to do so by the prophet Jeremiah.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 31 Dec. 2023
The House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to prevent a government shutdown after new Republican Speaker Mike Johnson was forced to reach across the aisle to Democrats when hard-right conservatives revolted against his plan.
—Compiled Bydemocrat-Gazette Stafffrom Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 15 Nov. 2023
Economies have been destabilized by too much of it, and populations have revolted from too little of it.
—Wsj Books Staff, WSJ, 8 Dec. 2023
After employees and investors revolted, Altman got his job back days later.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 6 Dec. 2023
Lauren Hirsch, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
But a revolt among moderates and GOP lawmakers in at-risk seats put that sect of the party on a collision course with the conservative ideologues.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 2 Apr. 2024
With the public incensed at what many see as Haredi privilege, Netanyahu is facing revolt within his ranks.
—Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2024
The Palestinian cause, which was sidelined after the 2011 Arab Spring revolts, is again central to the politics of the Middle East, thanks to Hamas’s attacks on October 7.
—Bernard Haykel, Foreign Affairs, 12 Feb. 2024
In 1780, a member of the native nobility, Túpac Amaru, launched a revolt against the Spanish.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
Sorry Reddit’s 19-year history has been a roller coaster of scandals over unsavory content, abrupt leadership changes, and user revolts.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 18 Mar. 2024
Not everything has gone smoothly, including a revolt by moderators last year.
—Mike Isaac, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
They’re aligned on a quest to stomp out revolt with the grotesque Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) and his homicidally inclined nephew Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler, slithering with evil).
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 23 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'revolt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Verb
borrowed from Middle French revolter, as reflexive se revolter "to turn about, change sides, turn away (from a belief, adherence), rebel," borrowed from Italian revoltare, revottare (later rivoltare) "to turn over, turn inside out, cause to rebel, disgust," from re- re- + voltare "to turn," going back to Vulgar Latin *volvitāre, iterative of Latin volvere "to set in a circular course, cause to roll, bring round" — more at wallow entry 1
Noun
borrowed from Middle French revolte, noun derivative of revolter, as reflexive se revolter "to turn about, change sides, turn away (from a belief, adherence), rebel" — more at revolt entry 1
Verb
1539, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun
1560, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing revolt
Dictionary Entries Near revolt
Cite this Entry
“Revolt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/revolt. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
revolt
1 of 2 verb
revolt
2 of 2 noun
More from Merriam-Webster on revolt
Nglish: Translation of revolt for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of revolt for Arabic Speakers
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