diff --git a/commitlint.config.ts b/commitlint.config.ts
index 9414d2c6..fb66f9d9 100644
--- a/commitlint.config.ts
+++ b/commitlint.config.ts
@@ -98,17 +98,14 @@ export default {
                 },
 
                 "header-max-length-with-suggestions": (
-                    { header }: { header: any },
+                    { raw }: { raw: any },
                     _: any,
                     maxLineLength: number
                 ) => {
-                    const headerStr = extractStringFromCommitlintParam(
-                        "header",
-                        header
-                    );
+                    const rawStr = extractStringFromCommitlintParam("rawStr", raw);
 
                     return Plugins.headerMaxLengthWithSuggestions(
-                        headerStr,
+                        rawStr,
                         maxLineLength
                     );
                 },
diff --git a/commitlint/abbreviations.ts b/commitlint/abbreviations.ts
index b722af3e..94ef3516 100644
--- a/commitlint/abbreviations.ts
+++ b/commitlint/abbreviations.ts
@@ -46,7 +46,6 @@ export const abbr = {
     "command": "cmd",
     "commands": "cmds",
     "command line": "cmdline",
-    "compare": "cmp",
     "compress": "zip",
     "compressed": "zipped",
     "concatenate": "concat",
diff --git a/commitlint/plugins.ts b/commitlint/plugins.ts
index fbe94ce1..4b01451b 100644
--- a/commitlint/plugins.ts
+++ b/commitlint/plugins.ts
@@ -128,14 +128,46 @@ export abstract class Plugins {
     }
 
     public static headerMaxLengthWithSuggestions(
-        headerStr: string,
+        rawStr: string,
         maxLineLength: number
     ) {
         let offence = false;
 
+        const lineBreakIndex = rawStr.indexOf("\n");
+        let headerStr = rawStr;
+        if (lineBreakIndex >= 0) {
+            // Extracting headerStr from rawStr rather than using header directly is a
+            // workaround for what must be a commitlint or conventional-changelog bug, TODO: report
+            headerStr = rawStr.substring(0, lineBreakIndex);
+        }
+
         const headerLength = headerStr.length;
         let message = `Please do not exceed ${maxLineLength} characters in title (found ${headerLength}).`;
-        if (!headerStr.startsWith("Merge ") && headerLength > maxLineLength) {
+        let theMaxLineLengthToCompareWith = maxLineLength;
+
+        // note: a revert of a revert, in new versions of git, is written as "Reapply..." which happens
+        // to have same length as "Revert"
+        const extraCharsAllowedBecauseOfARevertOrARevertOfARevert =
+            'Revert "'.length +
+            // we add one because revert commits end with '"'
+            1;
+
+        const maxLineLengthAfterAccountingForRevertException =
+            maxLineLength + extraCharsAllowedBecauseOfARevertOrARevertOfARevert;
+        if (
+            headerStr.endsWith('"') &&
+            (headerStr.startsWith('Revert "') ||
+                headerStr.startsWith('Reapply "'))
+        ) {
+            theMaxLineLengthToCompareWith =
+                maxLineLengthAfterAccountingForRevertException;
+            message = `Please do not exceed ${maxLineLength} (${maxLineLengthAfterAccountingForRevertException} if it's a revert) characters in title (found ${headerLength}).`;
+        }
+
+        if (
+            !headerStr.startsWith("Merge ") &&
+            headerLength > theMaxLineLengthToCompareWith
+        ) {
             offence = true;
 
             const colonIndex = headerStr.indexOf(":");
diff --git a/commitlint/tests/plugins.test.ts b/commitlint/tests/plugins.test.ts
index aeb70eb9..0da0a342 100644
--- a/commitlint/tests/plugins.test.ts
+++ b/commitlint/tests/plugins.test.ts
@@ -858,7 +858,7 @@ test("prefer-slash-over-backslash2", () => {
 
 test("header-max-length-with-suggestions1", () => {
     const commitMsgWithThatExceedsHeaderMaxLength =
-        "foo: this is only a title with a configuration in it that exceeds header max length";
+        "foo: this is only a title with the term 'configuration' in it that exceeds header max length";
     const headerMaxLength1 = runCommitLintOnMsg(
         commitMsgWithThatExceedsHeaderMaxLength
     );
@@ -871,7 +871,7 @@ test("header-max-length-with-suggestions1", () => {
 
 test("header-max-length-with-suggestions2", () => {
     const commitMsgWithThatExceedsHeaderMaxLength =
-        "foo: this is only a title with a 1 second in it that exceeds header max length";
+        "foo: this is only a title with the term '1 second' (which includes a space) in it that exceeds header max length";
     const headerMaxLength2 = runCommitLintOnMsg(
         commitMsgWithThatExceedsHeaderMaxLength
     );
@@ -986,16 +986,30 @@ test("header-max-length-with-suggestions11", () => {
 });
 
 test("header-max-length-with-suggestions12", () => {
-    const commitMsgThatExceedsHeaderMaxLength =
-        "Split that compares better because blah blah bla very very very long title";
+    const commitMsgThatExceedsHeaderMaxLengthBecauseItIsARevert =
+        'Revert "This header is a title with less than 50chars"';
     const headerMaxLength12 = runCommitLintOnMsg(
-        commitMsgThatExceedsHeaderMaxLength
+        commitMsgThatExceedsHeaderMaxLengthBecauseItIsARevert
     );
-    const not_expected_message = `"compares" -> "cmps"`;
-    expect(headerMaxLength12.status).not.toBe(0);
-    expect(
-        (headerMaxLength12.stdout + "").includes(not_expected_message)
-    ).toEqual(false);
+    expect(headerMaxLength12.status).toBe(0);
+});
+
+test("header-max-length-with-suggestions13", () => {
+    const commitMsgThatExceedsHeaderMaxLengthBecauseItIsARevertOfARevert =
+        'Reapply "This header is a title with less than 50chars"';
+    const headerMaxLength13 = runCommitLintOnMsg(
+        commitMsgThatExceedsHeaderMaxLengthBecauseItIsARevertOfARevert
+    );
+    expect(headerMaxLength13.status).toBe(0);
+});
+
+test("header-max-length-with-suggestions14", () => {
+    const commitMsgThatExceedsHeaderMaxLengthEvenIfItIsARevert =
+        'Revert "This header is a title with moooooooooore than 50chars"';
+    const headerMaxLength14 = runCommitLintOnMsg(
+        commitMsgThatExceedsHeaderMaxLengthEvenIfItIsARevert
+    );
+    expect(headerMaxLength14.status).not.toBe(0);
 });
 
 test("proper-issue-refs1", () => {