REVOLUTION Synonyms: 44 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the noun 'revolution' differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of revolution are insurrection , mutiny , rebellion , revolt , and uprising . While all these words mean "an outbreak against authority," revolution applies to a successful rebellion resulting in a major change (as in government). // a political revolution that toppled the monarchy

Q: When is 'mutiny' a more appropriate choice than 'revolution'?

Although the words mutiny and revolution have much in common, mutiny applies to group insubordination or insurrection especially against naval authority. // a mutiny led by the ship's cook

Q: When would 'rebellion' be a good substitute for 'revolution'?

The meanings of rebellion and revolution largely overlap; however, rebellion implies an open formidable resistance that is often unsuccessful. // open rebellion against the officers

Q: How are the words 'revolt' and 'insurrection' related as synonyms of 'revolution'?

Both 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

Q: When could 'uprising' be used to replace 'revolution'?

The words uprising and revolution are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, uprising implies a brief, limited, and often immediately ineffective rebellion. // quickly put down the uprising

revolution

noun

ˌre-və-ˈlü-shən

Definition of revolution

as in rotation

a rapid turning about on an axis or central point revved the engine to 3000 revolutions per minute

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as in revolt

open fighting against authority (as one's own government) the revolution by which the American colonies gained their independence from Great Britain necessitated going up against the world's most powerful army

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How does the noun revolution differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of revolution are insurrection, mutiny, rebellion, revolt, and uprising. While all these words mean "an outbreak against authority," revolution applies to a successful rebellion resulting in a major change (as in government).

a political revolution that toppled the monarchy

When is mutiny a more appropriate choice than revolution?

Although the words mutiny and revolution have much in common, mutiny applies to group insubordination or insurrection especially against naval authority.

a mutiny led by the ship's cook

When would rebellion be a good substitute for revolution?

The meanings of rebellion and revolution largely overlap; however, rebellion implies an open formidable resistance that is often unsuccessful.

open rebellion against the officers

How are the words revolt and insurrection related as synonyms of revolution?

Both 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

When could uprising be used to replace revolution?

The words uprising and revolution are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, uprising implies a brief, limited, and often immediately ineffective rebellion.

quickly put down the uprising

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of revolution The Swinging Sixties brought a second club revolution to London, spearheaded by the opening of Annabel’s in 1963. — Mark Cecil, Robb Report, 10 Oct. 2026 Drawing on personal archives, home videos, footage of street protests, newspapers and recorded voices, the filmmaker pieces together a portrait of a country shaped by political repression and a continuing hope for revolution. — Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2026 Soto-Martínez and Hernandez won reelection outright in the June primary because their constituents appreciated their sewer socialism approach, focusing on quality-of-life issues instead of ideological revolution. — Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026 How has this added to the cruelties Haiti and its people have endured since their successful revolution began in 1791? — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for revolution

Recent Examples of Synonyms for revolution

Noun

But after a trade to Charlotte for center Mark Williams was rescinded, Knecht never settled back into the rotation.

— Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
Rookie guard Ryan Conwell might be ready to be in the Heat’s rotation sooner than some expected.

— Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of rotation

Noun

The 2022 Freedom Convoy began over vaccine requirements for cross-border truckers but grew into a broader revolt against pandemic restrictions.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
Advertisement The Yellow Vest revolt of 2018 to 2019 was an earlier social explosion of precisely that resentment.

— Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of revolt

Noun

Solving a memory problem One particularly notable result concerns modular inversion, a mathematical operation used in elliptic-curve arithmetic.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026
Sakurai is already ahead of the curve by leaning into the material’s brainless escapism.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of curve

Noun

Gavras’s previous film, the magnificent Athena, was an action epic and family tragedy about an uprising at a French housing project.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
But Qaddafi’s military forces were decisively defeated by Western airpower and his objective of crushing a popular uprising by force was rendered impossible.

— Justin Bronk, Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of uprising

Noun

Food and drink True to Miami form, Royal Palm South Beach offers its own spin on Latin and Caribbean flavors, especially at The Paloma Club, an alfresco restaurant overlooking the pool.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Oct. 2026
These see the vehicle spin in mid-air, much like a stunt plane, and thrust again to cushion its fall for a safe landing.

— James Peckham, PC Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of spin

Noun

How is the Schaumburg Democrat grappling with that fateful outcome, while preparing to depart Congress after 10 tumultuous years, which included a pandemic, an insurrection and impeachment proceedings?

— Marni Pyke, Chicago Tribune, 13 Oct. 2026
The film argues that those foundational principles — along with the amendment’s prohibition against those who engage in insurrection serving as heads of state — have come under unprecedented pressure in recent years.

— Clayton Davis, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of insurrection

Noun

Its leader, Sergei Mironov, 73, once gained headlines by posing with a symbol of brutality — a sledgehammer given to him by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late Wagner mercenary leader shortly before his failed 2023 mutiny.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026
Step aboard the Grampus, a whaleship gone adrift after a storm, rations running out and a violent mutiny, and learn what happened to its ghost whalers.

— Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of mutiny

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“Revolution.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/revolution. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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