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History vocabulary · Historiography and Historical Thinking

Revisionism

Meaning in history, with examples

/rɪˈvɪʒənɪzəm/nounAdvanced term

In history, revisionism means: The re-examination of accepted views of the past in the light of new evidence or questions; the word can also mean distorting well-established facts for political ends.

In Turkish: revizyonizm, tarih revizyonizmi

How it is used

In academic history revisionism is normal: each generation revises earlier interpretations, and a revisionist historian challenges an orthodox view. In public debate, however, the word often suggests denial or distortion, so check the context.

Example sentences

  1. Revisionism in the 1960s changed how historians explained the origins of the war.

  2. A revisionist account argues that the reforms began well before 1839.

Common collocations

  • historical revisionism
  • a revisionist historian
  • a revisionist interpretation
  • post-revisionism
  • historiographyThe writing of history, and especially the study of how historians have written about a subject over time, which sources they used and how their views changed.
  • interpretationA particular explanation of what past events meant or why they happened, based on the evidence and on the historian's questions and point of view.
  • evidenceInformation from sources, objects or data that helps show whether a claim about the past is true, or how likely it is.
  • declineA gradual loss of power, wealth, size or importance, as when an empire, city or industry becomes weaker over a long period.

More terms: Historiography and Historical Thinking

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