Revolt vs. Revolution — What's the Difference?

A strong negative reaction or rejection by a person or group.

The overthrow of a government or ruler by the governed and its replacement with another.

A refusal to obey orders or accept norms.

A significant change in the political, economic, or social order of a society.

A feeling of disgust or repulsion.

In political science, a revolution (Latin: revolutio, "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due to perceived oppression (political, social, economic) or political incompetence. In book V of the Politics, the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC) described two types of political revolution: Complete change from one constitution to another Modification of an existing constitution.Revolutions have occurred through human history and vary widely in terms of methods, duration and motivating ideology.

An act of rebellion against an established order or authority.

Orbital motion about a point, especially as distinguished from axial rotation

To attempt to overthrow the authority of the state; rebel.

A turning or rotational motion about an axis.

To oppose or refuse to accept something

A single complete cycle of such orbital or axial motion.

To feel disgust or repugnance

The overthrow of one government and its replacement with another.

To fill with disgust or abhorrence; repel.

A sudden or momentous change in a situation

An uprising, especially against state authority; a rebellion.

(Geology) A time of major crustal deformation, when folds and faults are formed.

An act of protest or rejection.

A political upheaval in a government or state characterized by great change.

The state of a person or persons in rebellion

The removal and replacement of a government, especially by sudden violent action.

To rebel, particularly against authority.

Rotation: the turning of an object around an axis, one complete turn of an object during rotation.

To repel greatly.

In the case of celestial bodies, the traversal of one body along an orbit around another body.

To cause to turn back; to roll or drive back; to put to flight.

A sudden, vast change in a situation, a discipline, or the way of thinking and behaving.

(intransitive) To be disgusted, shocked, or grossly offended; hence, to feel nausea; used with at.

A round of periodic changes, such as between the seasons of the year.

To turn away; to abandon or reject something; specifically, to turn away, or shrink, with abhorrence.

Consideration of an idea; the act of revolving something in the mind.

An act of revolt.

The act of revolving, or turning round on an axis or a center; the motion of a body round a fixed point or line; rotation; as, the revolution of a wheel, of a top, of the earth on its axis, etc.

To turn away; to abandon or reject something; specifically, to turn away, or shrink, with abhorrence.

Return to a point before occupied, or to a point relatively the same; a rolling back; return; as, revolution in an ellipse or spiral.

Hence, to be faithless; to desert one party or leader for another; especially, to renounce allegiance or subjection; to rise against a government; to rebel.

The space measured by the regular return of a revolving body; the period made by the regular recurrence of a measure of time, or by a succession of similar events.

To be disgusted, shocked, or grossly offended; hence, to feel nausea; - with at; as, the stomach revolts at such food; his nature revolts at cruelty.

The motion of any body, as a planet or satellite, in a curved line or orbit, until it returns to the same point again, or to a point relatively the same; - designated as the annual, anomalistic, nodical, sidereal, or tropical revolution, according as the point of return or completion has a fixed relation to the year, the anomaly, the nodes, the stars, or the tropics; as, the revolution of the earth about the sun; the revolution of the moon about the earth.

To cause to turn back; to roll or drive back; to put to flight.

The motion of a point, line, or surface about a point or line as its center or axis, in such a manner that a moving point generates a curve, a moving line a surface (called a surface of revolution), and a moving surface a solid (called a solid of revolution); as, the revolution of a right-angled triangle about one of its sides generates a cone; the revolution of a semicircle about the diameter generates a sphere.

To do violence to; to cause to turn away or shrink with abhorrence; to shock; as, to revolt the feelings.

A total or radical change; as, a revolution in one's circumstances or way of living.

The act of revolting; an uprising against legitimate authority; especially, a renunciation of allegiance and subjection to a government; rebellion; as, the revolt of a province of the Roman empire.

A fundamental change in political organization, or in a government or constitution; the overthrow or renunciation of one government, and the substitution of another, by the governed.

A revolter.

A drastic and far-reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving;

Organized opposition to authority; a conflict in which one faction tries to wrest control from another

The overthrow of a government by those who are governed

Make revolution;

A single complete turn (axial or orbital);

Fill with distaste;

A dramatic and wide-reaching change in conditions, attitudes, or operation.

Cause aversion in; offend the moral sense of;

A single orbit of one object around another or about an axis or center.

An uprising, especially of troops or sailors against their officers.

The movement of an object in a circular or elliptical course.

A revolt is an act of rebellion, while a revolution implies a broader and often lasting change in society.

Yes, revolutions can be social, economic, or even technological, like the Industrial Revolution.

No, some revolutions are relatively peaceful, like the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia.

Typically, revolutions involve multiple acts of revolt, but the key is that they result in systemic change.

No, some revolutions might not achieve their objectives or might be suppressed.

While dissent is a form of protest, not every minor act of dissent qualifies as a revolt, which usually implies a larger-scale rebellion.

No, a revolt can be either peaceful or violent, depending on the methods used.

No, not every revolt results in a revolution. Some revolts might be suppressed or might not achieve their broader objectives.

Revolutions can profoundly alter societal structures, governance, economics, and culture.

Yes, a revolt can be against any form of established authority or norm, not just political ones.

Yes, revolts can be spontaneous reactions to oppressive situations or sudden events.

Not necessarily, but many societies have experienced one or more revolutions at some point in their history.