Antirevolutionary

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Opposing changes aimed at altering political systems
2. Resistant to efforts intended to overthrow or radically change established political orders
3. Characterized by opposition to movements seeking to dramatically transform government or society

Etymology: "Antirevolutionary" is a plain compound: the prefix "anti-", meaning "against" or "opposed to," attached to "revolutionary." The prefix comes from Greek "anti," which carried the sense of "opposite" or "against," and it has been used in English to build countless words that set one thing against another, from "antibody" to "antiwar." The base word "revolutionary" traces back through French to Latin "revolvere," "to roll back" or "turn around," and it took on its political sense of violent upheaval in the late 1700s, when the American and French revolutions made the idea of overturning governments a central topic of public debate. Once that political meaning was established, adding "anti-" was a natural step for describing people and positions that resisted such upheaval.

Synonyms: counter-revolutionary, reactionary

Antonyms: revolutionary, progressive