disruptive
dis-RUP-tiv
/dɪsˈrʌptɪv/
Innovative or groundbreaking in a way that creates a new market and value network, eventually displacing established market-leading firms and products.
In business, 'disruptive' is a compliment. It means you are changing the rules of the game, not just being annoying.
The story behind the word. From the Latin 'dis-' (apart) and 'rumpere' (to break). It originally meant to physically break something into pieces. In the 1990s, Harvard professor Clayton Christensen applied it to business to describe how small companies with fewer resources can successfully challenge established incumbents.
Word relationships
- revolutionary: Revolutionary implies a massive change; disruptive specifically implies the displacement of existing leaders.
- groundbreaking: Groundbreaking means doing something new; disruptive means doing something that makes the old way obsolete.
- incremental: Incremental changes are small, steady improvements that do not change the basic structure of the market.
Commonly confused with
- destructive: Destructive only means to tear down; disruptive means to tear down by building something better.
Word family
- disrupt (verb): To interrupt an event, activity, or process by causing a disturbance.
- disruption (noun): Disturbance or problems which interrupt an event, activity, or process.
Collocations
- disruptive innovation
- disruptive technology
- disruptive force
- disruptive business model
Example sentences
- "Disruptive innovation is not a breakthrough that makes good products better." A definition of the business concept.
- "Digital photography was a disruptive technology that eventually put traditional film companies out of business." Describing a new technology.
Memory hook
Disruptive technology 'ruptures' the old way of doing things. Disruptive = Break the old, build the new.
When not to use
Avoid using it to mean 'loud' or 'unruly' in a business context; it should specifically refer to market-changing innovation.
Fun facts
- Netflix is the classic example of a disruptive company; it started by disrupting video rental stores and then disrupted cable television.
Related words
Explore more words
disrupt, innovate, cutting-edge, intrusive, iconoclastic, unorthodox
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