revolutionary

See also: Revolutionary

English

Etymology

Compare French révolutionnaire; equivalent to revolution +‎ -ary.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌɹɛvəˈluʃənɛɹi/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌɹɛvəˈluːʃənɹi/, /-ˈljuː-/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

revolutionary (comparative more revolutionary, superlative most revolutionary)

1. Of or pertaining to a revolution in government; tending to, or promoting, revolution

   revolutionary war

   revolutionary measures

   revolutionary agitators

   • 1957, Chung-cheng (Kai-shek) Chiang, “Introduction”, in Soviet Russia in China: A Summing-up at Seventy‎^[1], New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 3:

     In 1885, one hundred and ten years after the American Declaration of Independence, a young Chinese medical doctor named Sun Yat-sen began preaching his revolutionary principles. Ten years later, in 1895, he founded in Honolulu the first Chinese revolutionary party with what then must have seemed an unbelievably ambitious aim of overthrowing the monarchical system of government which had been in continuous existence in China for forty centuries.

2. Of or pertaining to something that portends of great change; overthrowing a standing mindset

   a revolutionary new tool

3. (sciences) Of or pertaining to something that revolves.

Synonyms

• (political revolution): Jacobinic, Jacobinical

Translations

of or pertaining to a revolution in government

• Albanian: revolucionar (sq)
• Arabic: ثَوْرِيّ (ṯawriyy)
• Armenian: հեղափոխական (hy) (heġapʻoxakan)
• Azerbaijani: inqilabi
• Belarusian: рэвалюцы́йны (revaljucýjny)
• Bengali: ইনকিলাবি (bn) (inkilabi), বিপ্লবী (bn) (biplôbi)
• Bulgarian: революцио́нен (revoljuciónen)
• Catalan: revolucionari (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 革命性的 (zh) (gémìngxìng de), 革命的 (zh) (gémìng de)

• Czech: revoluční (cs)
• Danish: revolutionær (da)
• Dutch: baanbrekend (nl)
• Estonian: revolutsiooniline
• Finnish: vallankumouksellinen (fi)
• French: révolutionnaire (fr)
• Georgian: რევოლუციური (revoluciuri)
• German: revolutionär (de)
• Greek: επαναστατικός (el) (epanastatikós)
• Hebrew: מַהְפֵּכָנִי (mahapkháni)
• Hindi: क्रांतिकारी (hi) (krāntikārī), इंक़िलाबी (iṅqilābī), इंक़लाबी (iṅqlābī)
• Hungarian: forradalmi (hu)
• Irish: réabhlóideach
• Italian: rivoluzionario (it)
• Japanese: 革命的な (ja) (かくめいてきな, kakumeiteki na)
• Kashmiri: اِنقلٲبؠ (inqlạ̄b'), इंक़लऻब्य (inqlạ̄b')
• Kazakh: революциялық (revolüsiälyq)
• Korean: 혁명의 (ko) (hyeongmyeong'ui), 혁명적(革命的) (ko) (hyeongmyeongjeok)
• Kyrgyz: революциялык (revolyutsiyalık)
• Latvian: revolucionārs
• Lithuanian: revoliucinis, revoliucingas
• Macedonian: револуционе́рен (revolucionéren)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: revolusjonær

  Nynorsk: revolusjonær

• Pashto: انقلابي (ps) (enqelābí)
• Persian: انقلابی (fa) (enqelâbi)
• Polish: rewolucyjny (pl)
• Portuguese: revolucionário (pt)
• Romanian: revoluționar (ro)
• Russian: революцио́нный (ru) (revoljuciónnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: rèabhlaideach
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ре̏волуциона̄ран

  Roman: rȅvolucionāran (sh)

• Slovak: revolučný
• Slovene: revolucionaren
• Spanish: revolucionario (es)
• Swedish: revolutionär (sv)
• Tajik: револютсионӣ (revolyutsioni), инқилобӣ (tg) (inqilobi)
• Ukrainian: революці́йний (revoljucíjnyj)
• Urdu: انقلابی (inqalābī)
• Uyghur: ئېنقىلابىي (ënqilabiy)
• Uzbek: inqilobiy (uz)
• Volapük: levolutik
• Welsh: chwyldroadol (cy)

of or pertaining to a revolutionary, revolutionist

• Czech: revolucionářský
• Finnish: vallankumouksellinen (fi)
• Greek: επαναστατικός (el) (epanastatikós)
• Irish: réabhlóideach
• Maori: whakawhana
• Portuguese: revolucionário (pt)
• Volapük: (♂♀) levolutanik, (♂) hilevolutanik, (♀) jilevolutanik

something that signifies great change

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 革命性的 (zh) (gémìngxìng de)

• Czech: revoluční (cs), převratný
• Danish: revolutionær (da), banebrydende, epokegørende
• Faroese: kollveltingarsamur, slóðbrótandi
• Finnish: mullistava (fi), uraauurtava (fi), vallankumouksellinen (fi)
• Greek: επαναστατικός (el) (epanastatikós)
• Icelandic: byltingarkenndur
• Irish: réabhlóideach
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: revolusjonær, revolusjonerende, banebrytende, banebrytande

  Nynorsk: revolusjonær

• Polish: rewolucyjny (pl)
• Portuguese: revolucionário (pt)
• Swedish: revolutionär (sv), banbrytande (sv), revolutionerande (sv), epokgörande (sv)

Noun

revolutionary (plural revolutionaries)

1. A revolutionist; a person who revolts.
   • 1942 March, “Notes and News: Monument to a Stillborn Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 88:

     "The Chengtu revolutionaries were fantastically colourful in the Szechwanese manner—they costumed themselves as heroes of the stage and their energies were chiefly occupied in tying ropes across the main streets so that when Imperial officials rode by in their litters they would have to get down and crawl under, losing face.

Translations

a revolutionist; a person who revolts

• Albanian: revolucionar (sq) m
• Arabic: ثَوْرِيّ m (ṯawriyy), ثَوْرِيَّة f (ṯawriyya)
• Armenian: հեղափոխական (hy) (heġapʻoxakan)
• Azerbaijani: inqilabçı
• Belarusian: рэвалюцыяне́р m (revaljucyjanjér), рэвалюцыяне́рка f (revaljucyjanjérka)
• Bulgarian: революционе́р (bg) m (revoljucionér), революционе́рка f (revoljucionérka)
• Burmese: တော်လှန်ရေးသမား (my) (tauhlanre:sa.ma:)
• Catalan: revolucionari (ca) m, revolucionària (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 革命家 (gaak³ ming⁶ gaa¹)

  Mandarin: 革命家 (zh) (gémìngjiā), 革命者 (zh) (gémìngzhě)

• Crimean Tatar: inqilapçı
• Czech: revolucionář (cs) m, revolucionářka f
• Danish: revolutionær (da) c
• Dutch: revolutionair (nl) m
• Estonian: revolutsionäär
• Finnish: vallankumouksellinen (fi)
• French: révolutionnaire (fr) m or f
• Georgian: რევოლუციონერი (revolucioneri)
• German: Revolutionär (de) m, Revolutionärin (de) f
• Greek: επαναστάτης (el) m (epanastátis), επαναστάτρια (el) f (epanastátria)
• Hebrew: רֶבוֹלוּצְיוֹנֶר m (revolutsionér), מַהְפְּכָן m (mahapkhán)
• Hindi: क्रांतिकारी (hi) (krāntikārī), इंक़लाबी (iṅqlābī), क्रांतिकारक m (krāntikārak), परिवर्तनवादी m (parivartanvādī)
• Hungarian: forradalmár (hu)
• Irish: réabhlóidí m
• Italian: rivoluzionario (it), rivoluzionaria (it) f
• Japanese: 革命家 (ja) (かくめいか, kakumeika)
• Kazakh: төңкеріскер (töñkerısker), революцияшыл (revolüsiäşyl), революционер (revolüsioner)
• Khmer: អ្នកបដិវត្ត (nĕək paʼdevŏət)
• Korean: 혁명가(革命家) (ko) (hyeongmyeongga)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: شۆڕشگێڕ (şorrişgêrr)

  Northern Kurdish: şoreşger (ku), înqilapger

• Kyrgyz: революционер (revolyutsioner)
• Lao: ນັກປະຕິວັດ (nak pa ti wat)
• Latvian: revolucionārs m, revolucionāre f
• Lithuanian: revoliucionierius m, revoliucionierė f
• Macedonian: револуционе́р m (revolucionér), револуционе́рка f (revolucionérka)
• Malay: revolusioner
• Malayalam: വിപ്ലവകാരി (ml) (viplavakāri)
• Maori: kaiwhana, kaiwhakatuma, hauhau
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: хувьсгалч (mn) (xuvʹsgalč), хувьсгалт (mn) (xuvʹsgalt)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: revolusjonær m

  Nynorsk: revolusjonær m

• Persian: انقلابی (fa) (enqelâbi)
• Polish: rewolucjonista (pl) m, rewolucjonistka (pl) f
• Portuguese: revolucionário (pt) m, revolucionária f
• Romanian: revoluționar (ro) m, revoluționară (ro) f
• Russian: революционе́р (ru) m (revoljucionér), революционе́рка (ru) f (revoljucionérka)
• Scottish Gaelic: rèabhlaideach m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: револуцио̀на̄р m, револуцио̀на̄рка f

  Roman: revoluciònār (sh) m, revoluciònārka (sh) f

• Slovak: revolucionár m, revolucionárka f
• Slovene: revolucionar m, revolucionarka f
• Spanish: revolucionario (es) m, revolucionaria (es) f
• Swahili: mpinduzi
• Swedish: revolutionär (sv) c
• Tagalog: rebolusyonaryo (tl)
• Tajik: инқилобчӣ (inqilobči)
• Tatar: революционер (rewolyutsioner)
• Thai: นักปฏิวัติ (nák-bpà-dtì-wát)
• Turkish: devrimci (tr), inkilapçı
• Turkmen: ynkylapçy
• Ukrainian: революціоне́р m (revoljucionér), революціоне́рка f (revoljucionérka)
• Uyghur: ئىنقىلابچى (inqilabchi)
• Uzbek: revolyutsioner (uz), inqilobchi (uz)
• Vietnamese: nhà cách mạng (家革命)
• Volapük: (♂♀) levolutan (vo), (♂) hilevolutan, (♀) jilevolutan
• Yiddish: רעוואָלוציאָנער m (revolutsyoner)

Derived terms

adjective and noun

• antirevolutionary
• café revolutionary
• counterrevolutionary
• French Revolutionary Time
• permanent revolutionary
• prerevolutionary
• pseudorevolutionary
• revolutionary site