What does reinvention mean?
Reinvention is the act of inventing, designing, or creating something again, usually with the aim of improving an existing product, idea, service, or institution. It is especially associated with business, technology, design, education, and public administration, where organizations may be described as undergoing reinvention when they undergo substantial strategic or structural change. The word can suggest resourceful adaptation of ideas that already exist, as in “reinvention of the wheel,” but it may also carry the critical implication that established work is being rediscovered and marketed as novel. Reinvention differs from simple renovation because it usually involves a new conception or method rather than mere repair or restoration. It is also broader than improvement, implying a notable departure from the previous form or approach. In everyday discussion, the term is most often encountered in the phrase “the reinvention of” something, and it generally conveys a sense of renewal, creativity, and ambitious change.
nounThe act of inventing or creating something again, especially by redesigning or substantially improving an existing product, idea, or institution. It often implies renewed creativity rather than the production of something entirely unprecedented.
- The process of inventing or creating something again, particularly by improving or redesigning an existing product, concept, or institution.
- A broad figurative renewal of an organization, system, or field through fresh thinking and substantial change.
"The company approached the task as an opportunity for reinvention rather than merely extending the life of its original product."
"Her reinvention of a traditional textile technique produced textiles with an unexpectedly modern appearance."
"The appointment was widely regarded as an attempt at the reinvention of the organization during a period of declining public confidence."
The plural is used when referring to separate instances of creative renewal or redesign.
"The exhibition explores the reinventions of modern dance by several twentieth-century choreographers."
To say that nobody can reinvent the wheel is to remind us that clever new solutions often begin with ideas that already exist.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does reinvention come from?
Reinvention was formed in English by combining the prefix re-, meaning “again,” with invention, meaning the act of discovering or creating something. Invention itself comes through French from Latin inventio, a noun derived from invenire, “to find” or “to discover.” The resulting word therefore refers broadly to the creation or discovery of something anew, especially in the context of an existing idea or form.
How reinvention is actually used
The usual construction is “reinvention of” followed by the thing being renewed. It can carry either a positive connotation of innovation or a more critical suggestion that existing ideas are being presented as new.
Easily confused with reinvention
Invention is the original act of creating something new, whereas reinvention is the process of creating or redesigning it again.