revolutionary

revolutionary — adjective

1. connected with a revolution in which a group of people tries to remove a governm

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

connected with a revolution in which a group of people tries to remove a government or leader and replace it with a new system.

Example

The revolutionary army finally took control of the capital after months of heavy fighting.

attributive: revolutionary army

Hui's grandfather was a well-known revolutionary leader in the 1970s.

Common collocations
  • revolutionary army
  • revolutionary movement
  • revolutionary leader
  • revolutionary government
  • revolutionary ideas
Synonyms
  • insurgent

    stronger focus on active fighting against the current government; usually a noun or attributive adjective

  • rebel

    broader — can describe anyone opposing authority, not necessarily seeking to replace the whole government

  • subversive

    more secretive; suggests working to weaken a system from within rather than open revolt

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

revolutionary + noun

be + revolutionary

Usage Note

Commonly used before a noun (attributive position) to describe armies, leaders, movements, ideas, or writings connected with a political revolution. The predicative use ('The ideas were revolutionary') almost always carries the INNOVATIVE sense instead — use the noun-modifier position to keep the POLITICAL sense clear.

Common Mistakes

The new phone design was revolutionary because it had a foldable screen.' (this uses the INNOVATIVE sense, not POLITICAL CHANGE).
The revolutionary army took over the radio station during the uprising.
Use POLITICAL CHANGE only when the topic is actual revolution in government.

2. completely new and different from what existed before, causing a major change in

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

completely new and different from what existed before, causing a major change in the way people think or do things — for example, a new technology that makes all earlier methods obsolete, or an idea that transforms a whole field.

Example

The company introduced a revolutionary battery that charges in just three minutes.

attributive: revolutionary + product noun

Tanvi's approach to teaching maths was revolutionary — children learned everything through games.

predicative: be + revolutionary

Common collocations
  • revolutionary new technology
  • revolutionary idea
  • revolutionary change
  • revolutionary product
  • truly revolutionary
  • revolutionary approach
Synonyms
  • groundbreaking

    very similar in meaning and formality; often used for scientific or artistic achievements

  • radical

    can overlap, but often carries a sense of extreme or drastic change; may sound more ideological

  • pioneering

    focuses on being the first to do something; often used for research and exploration

  • transformative

    emphasises the scale of the change; slightly more formal

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

revolutionary + noun

be + revolutionary

find + noun + revolutionary

Usage Note

This sense is the far more common usage in everyday and business English. It can appear before a noun ('a revolutionary product') or after a linking verb ('The idea was revolutionary'). The key difference from sense 1: if the topic is NOT about a political uprising, you mean this sense.

Common Mistakes

The revolutionary leaders met in secret to plan the overthrow.' (POLITICAL sense, not INNOVATIVE).
The revolutionary new software let anyone edit videos on their phone.
If the topic is technology, design, or ideas — not governments — use INNOVATIVE.
This is a very revolutionary machine.' (overuse of 'very'; 'revolutionary' is already a strong word).
This is a truly revolutionary machine.
Use 'truly' or 'genuinely' instead of 'very'.

revolutionary — noun

Word family

  • revolution
    nounB2
  • revolutionize
    verbB2
  • counter-revolution
    nounC1
  • counter-revolutionary
    adjectiveC1
  • counter-revolutionary
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/2

All four words describe something new and change-making, but they differ in emphasis. 'Revolutionary' (B2) focuses on the scale of the change — it overturns the old way entirely, like the smartphone replacing feature phones. 'Groundbreaking' (B2-C1) emphasises being the first to achieve something, especially in science or the arts; a groundbreaking study opens a new field. 'Radical' (B2-C1) stresses how different and extreme the change is from the norm — a radical design might shock people at first. 'Pioneering' (C1) highlights being the earliest to try a new approach, often in research or exploration; a pioneering surgeon performs an operation no one has done before. In everyday conversation, 'revolutionary' and 'groundbreaking' are the most common. For example: 'The company's revolutionary battery charges in three minutes' (scale of impact) vs. 'Her groundbreaking research on coral reefs won an award' (first of its kind) vs. 'His radical proposal to end homework was very unpopular with parents' (extreme) vs. 'The pioneering doctor developed a new way to treat burns' (earliest adopter).

revolutionary ↗groundbreaking ↗radical ↗pioneering

Common collocations

Nouns

  • revolution in
  • revolution against

Adverbs

  • truly revolutionary
  • genuinely revolutionary
  • absolutely revolutionary

Phrases

  • spark a revolution
  • lead a revolution
  • start a revolution

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'revolutionary' comes from 'revolution', which itself traces back through French 'révolution' to Latin 'revolutio', meaning 'a turning over or around'. The Latin root is 'revolvere' — 're-' (back, again) + 'volvere' (to roll, turn). Originally used in astronomy for the orbit of celestial bodies, 'revolution' took on its political meaning in the 1600s during England's Civil War period. The adjective 'revolutionary' appeared shortly after, and by the 1800s it had developed its second, metaphorical sense of any fundamental change in ideas or methods.