Definition

Noun: 1. A significant and fundamental change in government or power structure achieved without widespread violence or loss of life: The term specifically refers to a revolution where the transfer of power occurs with minimal armed conflict or bloodshed. 2. (Proper Noun, Historical) The Glorious Revolution of 1688: The specific historical event in England where King James II was deposed and replaced by William III and Mary II with little armed resistance in England itself.

Usage Examples

• Noun (General Concept):

  • The transition to democracy was hailed as a bloodless revolution, a model for peaceful change.
  • Activists hoped for a bloodless revolution, but the regime's response made that impossible.

• Noun (Specific Historical Event):

  • The Bloodless Revolution of 1688 established crucial constitutional principles in Britain.
  • Historians often contrast the Bloodless Revolution with the much more violent French Revolution that followed a century later.

Advanced Usage

• "a bloodless revolution in technology": A metaphorical use describing a rapid, complete, and peaceful transformation in a field.
  • The shift from analog to digital photography was a bloodless revolution in the industry.

Variants and Related Words

• Revolution (n): A forcible overthrow of a government or social order, or a dramatic and wide-reaching change. (This is the broader category; a is a specific type).
• Coup (d'état) (n): A sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government. (This is often contrasted with a , though some coups can be bloodless).
• Peaceful transition of power (n phrase): A core concept within the idea of a bloodless revolution.

Synonyms

• Peaceful revolution
• Nonviolent revolution
• The Glorious Revolution (specific historical synonym)

Related Phrases

• To carry out a bloodless revolution: To execute or achieve such a change.
  • The reformers aimed to carry out a bloodless revolution through mass civil disobedience.

Related Idioms/Concepts

• Velvet Revolution: A term specifically for the non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia in 1989, which is a modern archetype of a bloodless revolution.
• Glorious Revolution: The direct historical name for the 1688 event, emphasizing its perceived positive and orderly outcome.

Noun

1. the revolution against James II; there was little armed resistance to William and Mary in England although battles were fought in Scotland and Ireland (1688-1689)