revolutionize

1 of 2

verb

rev·​o·​lu·​tion·​ize ˌre-və-ˈlü-shə-ˌnīz 

revolutionized; revolutionizing

transitive verb

1

: to overthrow the established government of

2

: to imbue with revolutionary doctrines

3

: to change fundamentally or completely

revolutionize an industry

intransitive verb

: to engage in revolution

revolutionizer noun

revolutionizer

2 of 2

noun

rev·​o·​lu·​tion·​iz·​er

variants also British revolutioniser

-zə(r)

plural -s

: one that revolutionizes

revolutionizer of heavy industry

Examples of revolutionize in a Sentence

Verb

The invention of the airplane revolutionized travel.

This new drug may revolutionize cancer treatment.

This discovery has revolutionized our understanding of how the human brain works.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

As artificial intelligence revolutionizes how tasks are completed, many people are pleading their cases for why their jobs are important. — Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 9 Aug. 2026

The shale oil boom was revolutionized in part by drilling vertically and then horizontally to dig deeper into the subsurface and crack open more shale rock to release the liquids inside. — Jordan Blum, Fortune, 9 Aug. 2026

In the past few years, the steel industry has been accelerating its deployment of large-scale AI that’s revolutionizing steel production. — Gene Marks, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026

But Bite revolutionized the market in part by getting all the plastic out of the equation. — Anne Makovec, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

revolution + -ize

First Known Use

Verb

1797, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for revolutionize

• contextualize
• industrialize
• materialise
• materialize
• memorialize
• microenterprise
• overemphasize
• particularize
• revolutionise
• actualize
• antagonize
• apologise

Kids Definition

revolutionize

verb

rev·​o·​lu·​tion·​ize ˌrev-ə-ˈlü-shə-ˌnīz 

revolutionized; revolutionizing

1

: to overthrow the established government of

2

: to cause a person to become a revolutionist

3

: to change greatly or completely

an invention that revolutionized the industry

revolutionizer noun