revisionist
|re-vi-sion-ist|
/rɪˈvɪʒənɪst/
one who seeks to revise established views
Etymology
'revisionist' originates from English, specifically formed from the word 'revision' + the agent suffix '-ist', where 'revision' ultimately comes from Latin 'revisio' and 're-' meant 'again' and 'vidēre' (via 'vis-') meant 'to see'.
'revisionist' developed from the noun 'revision' (Middle English, borrowed from Old French/Latin 'revision-'), with the productive English suffix '-ist' (from French/Latin '-ista'), producing the agent noun/adjective 'revisionist' in modern English usage.
Initially it referred simply to 'one who reviews or re-examines' (a re-examiner), but over time it also came to mean 'one who advocates altering orthodox doctrines or history' and acquired politically charged/pejorative senses.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a person who advocates revising or altering established ideas, policies, or doctrines.
He was regarded as a revisionist within the party for proposing major policy changes.
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Noun 2
specifically, someone who seeks to alter orthodox Marxist doctrine (often used pejoratively in political contexts).
The party accused him of being a revisionist who wanted to abandon class struggle as the central focus.
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Noun 3
a person who denies or seeks to rewrite established historical facts (e.g., 'Holocaust revisionist'); often pejorative and associated with denialism.
Historians criticized the book as the work of a revisionist intent on denying documented events.
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Adjective 1
relating to or supportive of revisionism; intending to revise established views or doctrines.
She published a revisionist interpretation of nineteenth-century economic policy.
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Last updated: 2025/11/19 23:33