revolt

1 of 2

verb

re·​volt ri-ˈvōlt How to pronounce revolt (audio)
 also  -ˈvȯlt
revolted; revolting; revolts

intransitive verb

1
: to renounce allegiance or subjection (as to a government) : rebel
2
a
: to experience disgust or shock
b
: to turn away with disgust

transitive verb

: to cause to turn away or shrink with disgust or abhorrence
revolter noun

revolt

2 of 2

noun

1
: a renouncing of allegiance (as to a government or party)
especially : a determined armed uprising
2
: a movement or expression of vigorous dissent

Did you know?

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.

Choose the Right Synonym for revolt

rebellion, revolution, uprising, revolt, insurrection, mutiny mean an outbreak against authority.

rebellion implies an open formidable resistance that is often unsuccessful.

open rebellion against the officers

revolution applies to a successful rebellion resulting in a major change (as in government).

a political revolution that toppled the monarchy

uprising implies a brief, limited, and often immediately ineffective rebellion.

quickly put down the uprising

revolt and insurrection imply an armed uprising that quickly fails or succeeds.

a revolt by the Young Turks that surprised party leaders
an insurrection of oppressed laborers

mutiny applies to group insubordination or insurrection especially against naval authority.

a mutiny led by the ship's cook

Examples of revolt in a Sentence

Verb The group threatened to revolt. All the violence revolted me. Noun the revolt of the slaves The peasants' revolt was crushed by the king. The leader of the group called for revolt. Consumers are in revolt against high prices.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
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 The company’s board had suddenly fired CEO Sam Altman, hundreds of employees revolted in protest, Altman was reinstated, and the media dissected the story from every possible angle. Karen Hao, The Atlantic, 28 Nov. 2023 Meanwhile, Microsoft and Salesforce are angling to hire OpenAI employees who are revolting against the Altman firing. Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 21 Nov. 2023 Two of the Republican bills collapsed last week as moderates revolted. Compiled Bydemocrat-Gazette Stafffrom Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 15 Nov. 2023
Noun
The standoff has put Johnson in a bind over how to piece together a plan that a majority of the House can support but that also doesn’t lead to a revolt by hard-liners closely watching his leadership. Abigail Hauslohner, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2024 Regulators, airlines, fliers and even Boeing’s own workers are practically in revolt after a series of mid-flight disasters and a steady erosion of the company’s quality standards. Allison Morrow, CNN, 13 Mar. 2024 The film follows a group of high-school juniors navigating the apocalyptic conditions imposed by a mass machine revolt. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2024 Ecuador’s military was sent in to seize control of the country’s prisons last month after two major gang leaders escaped and criminal groups quickly set off a nationwide revolt that paralyzed the country. Jack Nicas, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024 The revolt at the group’s annual convention ushered hardliners into power and drove the reshaping of gun politics in the U.S., including the rise of a new interpretation that the Second Amendment protected an individual right to bear arms. TIME, 12 Feb. 2024 Moreover, even with a two-year stock slump, there seems to be very little danger of a broad shareholder revolt against CEO Bob Iger. Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 7 Feb. 2024 The Haganah collaborated with the British in suppressing the Palestinian revolt; this was important in strengthening the Haganah. Emily Bazelon, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2024 Yanga was one revolutionary that there’s documentation, but there were other revolts happening in Oaxaca and on the Pacific side, as well, that are not documented to the extent that Yanga was. Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 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

Etymology

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

First Known Use

Verb

1539, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1560, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of revolt was in 1539

Dictionary Entries Near revolt

Cite this Entry

“Revolt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/revolt. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

revolt

1 of 2 verb
re·​volt ri-ˈvōlt How to pronounce revolt (audio)
1
: to rise up against the authority of a ruler or government
2
: to feel or cause to feel disgust or shock
revolter noun

revolt

2 of 2 noun
1
: an act or instance of revolting
2
: an open and often violent rising up against authority

More from Merriam-Webster on revolt

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!