revolutionize

American  

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

especially British, revolutionise

verb (used with object)

• revolutionizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• revolutionized,
  past participle,  past
• revolutionizing
  present participle

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

Derived Forms

• revolutionizer
  noun
• quasi-revolutionized
  adjective
• unrevolutionized
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• revolutionizing
  present
• revolutionized
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• revolutionize
  simple
• revolutionizes
  simple
• have revolutionized
  perfect
• has revolutionized
  perfect
• am revolutionizing
  progressive
• are revolutionizing
  progressive
• is revolutionizing
  progressive
• have been revolutionizing
  perfect progressive
• has been revolutionizing
  perfect progressive

Past

• revolutionized
  simple
• had revolutionized
  perfect
• was revolutionizing
  progressive
• were revolutionizing
  progressive
• had been revolutionizing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will revolutionize
  simple
• will have revolutionized
  perfect
• will be revolutionizing
  progressive
• will have been revolutionizing
  perfect progressive

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

See Examples For:

revolutionize revolutionizes revolutionized revolutionizing

Humanoid robots have the potential to revolutionize life as we know it, and robotics startups across the globe are trying to bring them to market as soon as possible.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026

So it seems like Anthropic is making some pretty bold claims over something that is mildly cool and worth investigating, but at this point, also seems unlikely to revolutionize medicine or science.

From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2026

The authors enthused that the partnership "showcased how innovative approaches, even involving unconventional collaborators, can revolutionize oceanographic research."

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

Unified hired to provide an artificial intelligence chatbot named Ed, which was touted as a tool that would revolutionize school-to-family interactions and students’ academic experience.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

A sort of invisible magic that sends information through the thin air is about to revolutionize the world.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Maybe that’s the real magic of a tool like this: not that it revolutionizes your cooking, but that it makes the most ordinary meal feel new again.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2025

And, just like that, he revolutionizes the sport of shot put.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2024

This breakthrough method revolutionizes the estimation of gradients or derivatives of functions, a crucial step in many computational tasks.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2023

This is one of those Big Science Moments, the kind that revolutionizes a field and galvanizes the public.

From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2022

The suggestion which comes from a sweet, beautiful, charming character is contagious and sometimes revolutionizes a whole neighborhood.

From Pushing to the Front by Orison Swett Marden

With all the changes from AI, "the computer has to be revolutionized," Huang said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

Schick revolutionized shaving with injector razors and multiblades in a single cartridge, slugging it out in the marketplace for decades with rival shaving giant Gillette.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

"GLP-1-based medications have revolutionized the therapy of obesity. We now have a very effective pharmacotherapy for achieving significant weight loss," Petersen says.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 29, 2026

His research revolutionized the treatment of mental illness.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

These reporters, who use cell phones and smuggle out sound and video recordings on tiny USB memory sticks, have revolutionized news coverage of North Korea.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

For the home cooks: OXO is best known for revolutionizing the salad spinner, but it has also redesigned the garlic press, the can opener, the vegetable peeler … the list goes on.

From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026

ChatGPT-style AI is revolutionizing the world of high-level math by quickly solving famous, long-unsolved problems that stumped experts for decades.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

The Walkman came out in 1979, revolutionizing how people listen to music.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Ted Turner created CNN in 1980, revolutionizing the way America, and the world, got their news, and then went on to become one of the most prominent business leaders and philanthropists of his era.

From Barron's ● May 6, 2026

By that time, carbon dating was already revolutionizing archaeology.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann