the drastic reevaluation of an accepted theory or doctrine, or historical event or person. A revisionist historian for example, might offer a completely new view of a highly revered figure that shows him in a negative light, or vice versa. President John F. Kennedy and Sir Winston Churchill are two historical figures who have recently been subjected to revisionist treatment by historians.
Strictly, revisionism is the theory or practice of revising one's attitude to a previously accepted situation or point of view. In historical terms, it is usually applied to a new theory that upsets what has been commonly believed about an era, individual, event and so on. However, in recent years, the term has become somewhat tarnished by the campaigns by some to change the accepted views of certain events for ulterior motives. A prominent example of this is Holocaust denial.