industrial

industrial — adjective

1. connected with the production of goods in factories, or describing a place where

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

connected with the production of goods in factories, or describing a place where many factories are located and manufacturing is the main economic activity.

Example

Tariq works in an industrial park on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.

collocation: industrial park

The old industrial buildings were turned into modern apartments.

attributive: industrial + noun (buildings)

Common collocations
  • industrial area
  • industrial park
  • industrial production
  • industrial waste
  • industrial revolution
  • industrial town
  • industrial region
  • industrial sector
Synonyms
  • manufacturing

    narrower — focuses on the process of making goods rather than the physical setting

  • factory

    used as a compound noun (factory work, factory town) rather than as a true adjective

  • industrialised

    describes an economy or region that already has a developed industrial base

Antonyms
  • agricultural

    describes an area focused on farming rather than manufacturing

  • residential

    describes an area of homes, not factories

Grammar Patterns

industrial + noun

Usage Note

Attributive use is the norm — the adjective almost always appears before a noun (industrial park, industrial waste). The opposite of an industrial area is often a rural or agricultural area.

Common Mistakes

She is an industrial worker' (vague).
She works in an industrial factory' or 'She is a factory worker.
'industrial worker' is possible but 'factory worker' is more natural.
He is very industrial' (confusing with 'industrious').
He is a very industrious employee.
'industrious' means hard-working; 'industrial' relates to factories.

2. extremely large in size, amount, or scale — like the massive quantities associat

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

extremely large in size, amount, or scale — like the massive quantities associated with heavy industry and factories.

Example

The bakery uses industrial-sized ovens to bake hundreds of loaves per hour.

compound: industrial-sized

Tamar needed an industrial amount of paint to cover the warehouse walls.

collocation: industrial amount

Common collocations
  • industrial quantities
  • industrial scale
  • industrial-sized
  • industrial amount
Synonyms
  • massive

    broader — can describe physical size, weight, or impact, not just quantity

  • vast

    suggests a wide scope or area rather than a sheer amount

  • enormous

    more neutral in register, suitable for formal use

Antonyms
  • tiny

    the opposite of large in size or amount

  • minuscule

    formal term for very small

Grammar Patterns

industrial + noun (quantity/scale/size)

Usage Note

Common in informal contexts as an exaggeration for 'very large'. Typical before nouns like scale, quantities, amounts, and in the compound industrial-sized. Not used for physical dimensions (an industrial room) — instead use enormous or massive.

Common Mistakes

The building was industrial' (meaning huge).
The building was enormous.
'industrial' as a general intensifier is limited to set phrases like 'industrial quantities' and 'industrial scale'.
They have an industrial amount of work' (trying to sound formal).
They have an enormous amount of work.
in formal writing, use 'vast' or 'immense' instead.

industrial — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Industrial is the broadest term, covering any activity, place, or product linked to industry (industrial park, industrial waste). Manufacturing is more specific — it relates only to the actual process of making goods (manufacturing plant, manufacturing costs). Factory is used as a compound noun rather than an adjective (factory worker, factory floor) and refers directly to the physical building. Industrialised describes an economy or region that has already developed a significant industrial base (an industrialised nation). Commercial overlaps partially but refers to trade and business rather than production (commercial district). For example: 'This factory produces car parts' uses the building; 'This manufacturing company produces car parts' uses the process; 'This is an industrial area' describes the zone; 'Japan is a highly industrialised country' describes the economy.

industrial ↗manufacturing ↗factory ↗industrialised ↗commercial ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • industrial sector
  • industrial production
  • industrial development
  • industrial park
  • industrial country
  • industrial nation
  • industrial base
  • industrial output

Adverbs

  • heavily industrial
  • highly industrial

Phrases

  • industrial and commercial
  • industrial and agricultural
  • post-industrial

Prepositions

  • in an industrial area
  • from industrial sources

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word industrial traces back to Latin industria meaning 'diligence' or 'active effort'. It passed through French as industrie ('skill, activity') before entering English in the 15th century with a general sense of 'skillful or hard-working.' The modern meaning — relating to factories and large-scale manufacturing — developed in the late 18th century alongside the Industrial Revolution, when the word shifted from describing a person's diligence to describing an entire economic system based on mechanised production.