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industrial society

Definition of Industrial Society

(noun) A society based on mechanical labor, as opposed to manual labor, to create material goods.

Examples of Industrial Society

  • Baking loaves of bread in a factory as opposed to a small bakery that makes bread by hand.
  • Farms that harvest vegetables using machinery instead of human labor.

Industrial Society Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: in·dus·tri·al so·ci·e·ty

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /in-dUH-stree-uhl suh-sIE-uh-tee/
  • British English – /in-dUH-striuhl suh-sIE-uh-tee/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /ɪnˈdʌstriəl səˈsaɪəti/
  • British English – /ɪnˈdʌstrɪəl səˈsaɪəti/

Usage Note

  • Plural: industrial societies

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Additional Information

Related Terms


Works Consulted

Andersen, Margaret L., and Howard Francis Taylor. 2011. Sociology: The Essentials. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Brinkerhoff, David, Lynn White, Suzanne Ortega, and Rose Weitz. 2011. Essentials of Sociology. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Brym, Robert J., and John Lie. 2007. Sociology: Your Compass for a New World. 3rd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Collins English Dictionary: Complete and Unabridged. 6th ed. 2003. Glasgow, Scotland: Collins.

Dillon, Michele. 2014. Introduction to Sociological Theory: Theorists, Concepts, and their Applicability to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd ed. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Ferrante, Joan. 2011. Seeing Sociology: An Introduction. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Griffiths, Heather, Nathan Keirns, Eric Strayer, Susan Cody-Rydzewski, Gail Scaramuzzo, Tommy Sadler, Sally Vyain, Jeff Bry, Faye Jones. 2016. Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX: OpenStax.

Henslin, James M. 2012. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. 10th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Kendall, Diana. 2011. Sociology in Our Times. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Schaefer, Richard. 2013. Sociology: A Brief Introduction. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Scott, John, and Gordon Marshall. 2005. A Dictionary of Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press.

Shepard, Jon M. 2010. Sociology. 11th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Shepard, Jon M., and Robert W. Greene. 2003. Sociology and You. New York: Glencoe.

Thompson, William E., and Joseph V. Hickey. 2012. Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Turner, Bryan S., ed. 2006. The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).

Cite the Definition of Industrial Society

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “industrial society.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 29, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/industrial-society/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

industrial society. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/industrial-society/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “industrial society.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 29, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/industrial-society/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“industrial society.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/industrial-society/>.