re·vanch·ist
rə-ˈväⁿ-shist 
: of or relating to a policy designed to recover lost territory or status : of or relating to a revanche
Each of Hitler's allies had their own, partially interrelated, expansionary or revanchist motives for attacking the Soviet Union.—
Michael Burleigh
Michael BurleighWilson brought with him a sheaf of high principles—democracy, self-determination, world government—that bore little relevance to the tangled politics and even more tangled geography of postwar Europe. His idealism was soon drowned out by the revanchist passions of his allies.—Kenneth Auchincloss
Kenneth Auchincloss
also
: advocating or fighting for the recovery of lost territory or status
While revanchist emperors, such as Julian, were still mouthing the aristocratic ideology of imperialist aggression, more realistic rulers, like Constantius II, recognized that the future lay in accommodation with the so-called barbarians who had already infiltrated the heights of army and administration. —C. R. Whittaker
C. R. Whittaker
plural revanchists
: one who advocates or fights for the recovery of lost territory or status : one who advocates a policy of revanche
In eastern and South-Eastern Europe today, one man's courageous defender of national self-determination is another's nostalgic revanchist.—Tony Judt
Tony JudtLater in 2007, Pelosi plans to rewrite the laws on pork-barrel spending. She promises that the overall effect of her reforms will be "to break the link between lobbyists and legislation" in Washington. Who will win the coming battle between reformers and revanchists?—Massimo Calabresi
Massimo CalabresiExamples of revanchist in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebEdward A. Wasserman, Hartford Courant, 18 June 2024
Fascism represented a hopeful example of a revanchist elite reversing the tide.
—Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 1 Mar. 2024
As Russian President Vladimir Putin has demonstrated in Ukraine, the leaders of revanchist powers are not known for appetite suppression.
—Andrew S. Erickson, Foreign Affairs, 16 Feb. 2024
It is called the liberal order, an open commercial system in which participants can trade and prosper in peace without fear of being gobbled up by revanchist empires.
—Michael Beckley, Foreign Affairs, 22 Aug. 2023
Which is why, if and when Russian troops begin blasting further through Ukraine, the sole responsibility for the resultant bloodshed will lie with the revanchist dictatorship in the Kremlin, seeking to claw back its former colonial holdings, and not with the West.
—Casey Michel, The New Republic, 15 Feb. 2022
Since 1991, these agencies have been driven by a revanchist strategy to make Russia great again and to overturn the post–Cold War U.S.-led international order.
—Calder Walton, Foreign Affairs, 19 July 2023
Rather than destabilizing Russia and its neighbors, a Ukrainian victory would eliminate a powerful revanchist force and boost the cause of democracy worldwide.
—Garry Kasparov, Foreign Affairs, 20 Jan. 2023
Putin leads a defeated empire, sitting atop a nationalist regime with revanchist claims over his neighbors.
—Michael Mazza and Shay Khatiri, Washington Examiner, 1 June 2023
Emily Rauhala, Washington Post, 8 July 2024
Many of Trump’s other revanchist priorities have avidly sought to rescind the legislative successes of Barack Obama, especially Obamacare (Alexander Nazaryan, Newsweek, Sept. 6, 2017).
—Edward A. Wasserman, Hartford Courant, 18 June 2024
The two-percent target was set in 1999, when NATO did not face a revanchist Russia on its borders.
—Mathieu Droin, Foreign Affairs, 14 June 2024
Like Rowling, Seinfeld’s doubling down on his anti-woke opinions has metastasized into other revanchist takes, like the desire to return to an outmoded, Mad Men-era masculinity.
—Aja Romano, Vox, 14 June 2024
Signs of a retrenchment start with Congress’ reluctance to authorize additional military assistance for Ukraine to defend it from a revanchist Russia.
—Jon Sebastian Shifrin, Baltimore Sun, 26 Apr. 2024
At some point, a revanchist Russia will move in again.
—Branislav L. Slantchev, Foreign Affairs, 1 Apr. 2024
As Washington and its friends try to manage an ascendant China and a revanchist Russia, international law and norms have the potential to be potent constraints that draw a line between legitimate and illegitimate action.
—Suzanne Nossel, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2022
Her dramatic appearance electrified a conference already consumed with the threat posed by a revanchist Russia.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 17 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Beyond all of the other factors that may connect Trump and Putin, their revanchist philosophies should not be ignored.
—Edward A. Wasserman, Hartford Courant, 18 June 2024
Fascism represented a hopeful example of a revanchist elite reversing the tide.
—Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 1 Mar. 2024
As Russian President Vladimir Putin has demonstrated in Ukraine, the leaders of revanchist powers are not known for appetite suppression.
—Andrew S. Erickson, Foreign Affairs, 16 Feb. 2024
It is called the liberal order, an open commercial system in which participants can trade and prosper in peace without fear of being gobbled up by revanchist empires.
—Michael Beckley, Foreign Affairs, 22 Aug. 2023
Which is why, if and when Russian troops begin blasting further through Ukraine, the sole responsibility for the resultant bloodshed will lie with the revanchist dictatorship in the Kremlin, seeking to claw back its former colonial holdings, and not with the West.
—Casey Michel, The New Republic, 15 Feb. 2022
Since 1991, these agencies have been driven by a revanchist strategy to make Russia great again and to overturn the post–Cold War U.S.-led international order.
—Calder Walton, Foreign Affairs, 19 July 2023
Rather than destabilizing Russia and its neighbors, a Ukrainian victory would eliminate a powerful revanchist force and boost the cause of democracy worldwide.
—Garry Kasparov, Foreign Affairs, 20 Jan. 2023
Putin leads a defeated empire, sitting atop a nationalist regime with revanchist claims over his neighbors.
—Michael Mazza and Shay Khatiri, Washington Examiner, 1 June 2023
Noun
Allies will recall the history that brought them together and rally around the need to counter a revanchist Russia.
—Emily Rauhala, Washington Post, 8 July 2024
Many of Trump’s other revanchist priorities have avidly sought to rescind the legislative successes of Barack Obama, especially Obamacare (Alexander Nazaryan, Newsweek, Sept. 6, 2017).
—Edward A. Wasserman, Hartford Courant, 18 June 2024
The two-percent target was set in 1999, when NATO did not face a revanchist Russia on its borders.
—Mathieu Droin, Foreign Affairs, 14 June 2024
Like Rowling, Seinfeld’s doubling down on his anti-woke opinions has metastasized into other revanchist takes, like the desire to return to an outmoded, Mad Men-era masculinity.
—Aja Romano, Vox, 14 June 2024
Signs of a retrenchment start with Congress’ reluctance to authorize additional military assistance for Ukraine to defend it from a revanchist Russia.
—Jon Sebastian Shifrin, Baltimore Sun, 26 Apr. 2024
At some point, a revanchist Russia will move in again.
—Branislav L. Slantchev, Foreign Affairs, 1 Apr. 2024
As Washington and its friends try to manage an ascendant China and a revanchist Russia, international law and norms have the potential to be potent constraints that draw a line between legitimate and illegitimate action.
—Suzanne Nossel, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2022
Her dramatic appearance electrified a conference already consumed with the threat posed by a revanchist Russia.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 17 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'revanchist.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Revanchist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/revanchist. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
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