revolutionize

/ˈrɛvəˌluʃəˈnaɪz/

/rɛvəˈluʃənaɪz/

Other forms: revolutionized; revolutionizing; revolutionizes

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.

Definitions of revolutionize

1. verb

   change radically
   “E-mail revolutionized communication in academe”

   synonyms: overturn, revolutionise

   type of:

   alter, change, modify

   cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
2. verb

   overthrow by a revolution, of governments
   type of:

   bring down, overthrow, overturn, subvert, topple

   cause the downfall of; of rulers
3. verb

   fill with revolutionary ideas
   synonyms: inspire, revolutionise

   type of:

   indoctrinate

   teach doctrines to; teach uncritically