Revolution Meaning
/ˌɹɛv.əˈluː.ʃən/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA political upheaval in a government or state characterized by great change.
nounThe popular removal and replacement of a government, especially by sudden violent action.
Sentence Examples
After the revolution, France became a republic.
The revolution ushered in a new era.
A large number of churches fell into ruin after the revolution.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
After years of oppression, the people rose up to begin a historic ____ against the monarchy.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The industrial ____ transformed the way goods were produced and fundamentally changed society.
Word Origin & History
Inherited from Middle English revolucion, borrowed from Old French revolucion, from Late Latin revolūtiō (“the act of revolving; revolution”), from Latin revolvō (“roll back, revolve”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Una rivoluzione è certamente la cosa più autoritaria che ci sia: è l'atto per il quale una parte della popolazione impone la sua volontà all'altra parte per mezzo di fucili, baionette e cannoni; mezzi autoritari, se ce ne sono; e il partito vittorioso, se non vuole aver combattuto invano, deve continuare questo dominio col terrore che le sue armi inspirano ai reazionari."
— 1873 December [1872], Friedrich Engels, “Dell'autorità”, in Almanacco repubblicano per l'anno 1874; English translation in “On Authority”, in Marx/Engels Collected Works, volume 23, translation of original in Italian, 1988, page 425:
"The essence of every revolution consisted and consists in putting a new class in power, thus enabling it to realize its own program in life."
— 1938 January 15 [1937 December], Leon Trotsky, “The Lessons of Spain--The Last Warning”, in Socialist Appeal, volume 2, number 3, page 4:
"For a long time the dormouse and polecat had seemed to him overfeeble enemies for his restless valour, even as the granary floor seemed to afford too narrow a field. Every day he read the papers of the previous day in the servants' hall of the houses he visited, and it appeared to him that this war in America, which was hailed as the awakening of the spirit of liberty and justice in the New World, ought to produce a revolution in France."
— 1837, George Sand, translated by Stanley Young, Mauprat, Cassandra Editions, published 1977, →ISBN, page 237:
"The ratio between the speeds of revolution of wheel and disc is substantially equal to the reciprocal of the ratio between the diameter of the wheel and the diameter of the mean contact circle on the disc."
— 1912, P. M. Heldt, The Gasoline Automobile: Its Design and Construction, Volume II: Transmission, Running Gear and Control, The Horseless Age Co., published 1913, page 147:
"The Earth has two motions: a daily revolution (or turning around) upon its axis, and a yearly course around the sun."
— 1864, D. M. Warren, The Common-School Geography, Revised edition, H. Cowperthwait & Co., page 6:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After years of oppression, the people rose up to begin a historic ____ against the monarchy.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The industrial ____ transformed the way goods were produced and fundamentally changed society.