Meaning & use
innovation
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Meanings
noununcountable
The process of introducing new ideas, methods, or products that create useful change.
Grammar: No plural when it means the general process: encourage innovation, not innovations.
Patterns
- drive innovation
- encourage innovation
- innovation in something
The prize rewards innovation in clean energy.
Schools need time and support for innovation.
Competition can drive innovation, but it can also reward speed over care.
nouncountable
A new idea, method, device, or product that is genuinely useful or effective.
Grammar: Plural is innovations; use it for particular examples, not the general process.
Patterns
- a technological innovation
- the latest innovations
- an innovation in healthcare
The smartphone was a major innovation in personal computing.
Several innovations reduced water use on the farm.
The hospital adopted a simple innovation that shortened waiting times.
Word forms
| plural | innovations |
|---|
Common combinations
- technological innovation
- Technological innovation has changed how students revise.
- drive innovation
- Small teams can drive innovation faster than large committees.
- encourage innovation
- Managers should encourage innovation without punishing honest failure.
- innovation in healthcare
- Telemedicine is an area of rapid innovation in healthcare.
- latest innovations
- The fair displays the latest innovations from local startups.
Synonyms and how they differ
- invention
- Invention often names a created device or idea; innovation stresses useful introduction and impact.
- novelty
- Novelty only means newness; an innovation should also bring improvement.
- creativity
- Creativity is the ability to generate ideas; innovation is their practical adoption.
- reform
- Reform improves institutions or rules; innovation can apply to products, methods, or systems.
Opposites
Word family
- innovate verb
- To introduce new methods or ideas.
- innovative adjective
- Using new and useful ideas.
- innovator noun
- A person who introduces new methods or products.
- innovatory adjective
- Another less common adjective for introducing new ideas.
Commonly confused: innovation or renovation?
innovation vs renovation
Renovation means repairing or improving buildings; innovation means introducing new ideas or products.
Practice
Which sentence uses innovation correctly?
Choose one answer.
When naming particular patented items, use the countable plural innovations. Option 1 is possible only for the abstract process, option 3 is unidiomatic, and option 4 is repetitive and unclear.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “innovation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.