Evolution vs. Revolution — What's the Difference?

The gradual development of something.

A forcible overthrow of a government or societal order.

A process of continuous change from a lower to a higher state.

A complete cycle of events or phenomena.

The theoretical process of unwinding.

Movement of an object in a circular or elliptical course.

Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes that are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction.

A dramatic and wide-reaching change in conditions, attitudes, or operations.

The process by which different kinds of living organism are believed to have developed from earlier forms during the history of the earth.

In political science, a revolution (Latin: revolutio, "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due to perceived oppression (political, social, economic) or political incompetence. In book V of the Politics, the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC) described two types of political revolution: Complete change from one constitution to another Modification of an existing constitution.Revolutions have occurred through human history and vary widely in terms of methods, duration and motivating ideology.

The gradual development of something

Orbital motion about a point, especially as distinguished from axial rotation

The giving off of a gaseous product, or of heat

A turning or rotational motion about an axis.

A pattern of movements or manoeuvres

A single complete cycle of such orbital or axial motion.

The extraction of a root from a given quantity.

The overthrow of one government and its replacement with another.

A gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form.

A sudden or momentous change in a situation

A result of this process; a development

(Geology) A time of major crustal deformation, when folds and faults are formed.

Change in the genetic composition of a population during successive generations, often resulting in the development of new species. The mechanisms of evolution include natural selection acting on the genetic variation among individuals, mutation, migration, and genetic drift.

A political upheaval in a government or state characterized by great change.

The historical development of a related group of organisms; phylogeny.

The removal and replacement of a government, especially by sudden violent action.

(Astronomy) Change in the structure, chemical composition, or dynamical properties of a celestial object or system such as a planetary system, star, or galaxy. Evolution often changes the observable or measurable characteristics of the object or system.

Rotation: the turning of an object around an axis, one complete turn of an object during rotation.

A movement that is part of a set of ordered movements

In the case of celestial bodies, the traversal of one body along an orbit around another body.

(Mathematics) The extraction of a root of a quantity.

A sudden, vast change in a situation, a discipline, or the way of thinking and behaving.

A change of position.

A round of periodic changes, such as between the seasons of the year.

(military) A manoeuvre of troops or ships.

Consideration of an idea; the act of revolving something in the mind.

A turning movement, especially of the body.

The act of revolving, or turning round on an axis or a center; the motion of a body round a fixed point or line; rotation; as, the revolution of a wheel, of a top, of the earth on its axis, etc.

(obsolete) A turned or twisted shape; an involution, a complex or intricate shape.

Return to a point before occupied, or to a point relatively the same; a rolling back; return; as, revolution in an ellipse or spiral.

An unfolding.

The space measured by the regular return of a revolving body; the period made by the regular recurrence of a measure of time, or by a succession of similar events.

The act or process of unfolding or opening out; the progression of events in regular succession.

The motion of any body, as a planet or satellite, in a curved line or orbit, until it returns to the same point again, or to a point relatively the same; - designated as the annual, anomalistic, nodical, sidereal, or tropical revolution, according as the point of return or completion has a fixed relation to the year, the anomaly, the nodes, the stars, or the tropics; as, the revolution of the earth about the sun; the revolution of the moon about the earth.

(geometry) The opening out of a curve; now more generally, the gradual transformation of a curve by a change of the conditions generating it.

The motion of a point, line, or surface about a point or line as its center or axis, in such a manner that a moving point generates a curve, a moving line a surface (called a surface of revolution), and a moving surface a solid (called a solid of revolution); as, the revolution of a right-angled triangle about one of its sides generates a cone; the revolution of a semicircle about the diameter generates a sphere.

The extraction of a root from a given power.

A total or radical change; as, a revolution in one's circumstances or way of living.

(chemistry) The act or an instance of giving off gas; emission.

A fundamental change in political organization, or in a government or constitution; the overthrow or renunciation of one government, and the substitution of another, by the governed.

Process of development.

A drastic and far-reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving;

Development; the act or result of developing what was implicit in an idea, argument etc.

The overthrow of a government by those who are governed

A process of gradual change in a given system, subject, product etc., especially from simpler to more complex forms.

A single complete turn (axial or orbital);

(biology) The transformation of animals, plants and other living things into different forms (now understood as a change in genetic composition) by the accumulation of changes over successive generations.

A sudden, vast change in a situation or discipline.

The act of unfolding or unrolling; hence, any process of growth or development; as, the evolution of a flower from a bud, or an animal from the egg.

A series of things unrolled or unfolded.

The formation of an involute by unwrapping a thread from a curve as an evolute.

The extraction of roots; - the reverse of involution.

A prescribed movement of a body of troops, or a vessel or fleet; any movement designed to effect a new arrangement or disposition; a maneuver.

A general name for the history of the steps by which any living organism has acquired the morphological and physiological characters which distinguish it; a gradual unfolding of successive phases of growth or development.

That theory of generation which supposes the germ to preëxist in the parent, and its parts to be developed, but not actually formed, by the procreative act; - opposed to epigenesis.

That series of changes under natural law which involves continuous progress from the homogeneous to the heterogeneous in structure, and from the single and simple to the diverse and manifold in quality or function. The process is by some limited to organic beings; by others it is applied to the inorganic and the psychical. It is also applied to explain the existence and growth of institutions, manners, language, civilization, and every product of human activity. The agencies and laws of the process are variously explained by different philosophrs.

A process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage);

(biology) the sequence of events involved in the evolutionary development of a species or taxonomic group of organisms

Change in the genetic composition of a population over generations.

A pattern formed by a series of gradual changes.

Evolution implies a gradual change, while Revolution indicates a rapid, drastic shift.

Revolution often results in a profound transformation or replacement of the previous system.

Yes, accumulated evolutionary changes can sometimes culminate in revolutionary shifts.

Yes, gradual improvements in technology can be seen as evolutionary.

Not necessarily. Some changes might not fit neatly into either category or could be seen as a blend of both.

No, while often associated with biology, Evolution can describe any gradual change process.

No, while some revolutions involve conflict, others, like technological revolutions, are nonviolent.

Revolution typically denotes a complete overthrow or radical shift.

Evolution is generally more predictable due to its gradual nature, while Revolution can be sudden and unexpected.

Yes, societies can undergo slow evolutionary changes and also face revolutionary upheavals.