revolutionize

American  

[rev-uh-loo-shuh-nahyz] / ˌrɛv əˈlu ʃəˌnaɪz /

especially British, revolutionise

verb (used with object)

revolutionized, revolutionizing

1. to bring about a revolution in; effect a radical change in.

   to revolutionize petroleum refining methods.

2. to subject to a political revolution.

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revolutionize British  

/ ˌrɛvəˈluːʃəˌnaɪz /

verb

1. to bring about a radical change in

   science has revolutionized civilization

2. to inspire or infect with revolutionary ideas

   they revolutionized the common soldiers

3. to cause a revolution in (a country, etc)

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Other Word Forms

• quasi-revolutionized
  adjective
• revolutionizer
  noun
• unrevolutionized
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of revolutionize

First recorded in 1790–1800; revolution + -ize

Explanation

Revolutionize, a verb, means "to make a major change," like in the 1990s, when the Internet revolutionized how people communicated, got information and even did their jobs. Things were never the same again. Use revolutionize to describe something that is completely transformed. Originally, it meant "to bring about sweeping political change," like people who band together and fight to revolutionize a nation, with the end result being a new party in power or new philosophies about things like land ownership or tax collection put in place. In time, it also came to mean even nonpolitical change, like the digital music player, which revolutionized how people get and listen to music.

Example Sentences

He was describing V.R.’s “unique ability to convey a sense of just ‘being there,’ wherever there happens to be,” as he puts it in his book “VRx: How Virtual Therapeutics Will Revolutionize Medicine.”

From New York Times • Apr. 26, 2022

UBI is the big idea Lowrey is pushing with her book; her unsubtle subtitle is: How a Universal Basic Income Would End Poverty, Revolutionize Work, and Remake the World.

From Slate • Jul. 10, 2018

Several months before delivering his new year’s wishes, after a local TEDx presentation in November on “How AI Will Revolutionize Health,” I sat down with Villani, who was cordial if a bit distant.

From The Verge • Mar. 28, 2018

Data Analytics Will Revolutionize Decision-Making “Many more decisions will be based on predictive elements versus gut instincts,” Rometty said.

From Forbes • Mar. 8, 2013

Revolutionize through the ballot box, and restore the Government once more to the affections and hearts of men by making it express, as it was intended to do, the highest spirit of justice and liberty.

From Abraham Lincoln, Volume 2 (of 2) The True Story of a Great Life by Herndon, William H.