When I look up on dictionaries, the common definition is that "to make change and improve something" for these words but what is the difference between the usage of these terms?
Only difference I noticed from definitions is that if there is a problem and if want to imply to fix it we can use "overhaul", Is that really correct? but in other situations are they interchangeable? How are these terms different for native speakers?
They repaired and maintained aircraft and overhauled their
engines.The county took steps to enhance water quality / in security /
transportation system.This country’s health care system needs revamping.
The software revamp/overhaul/enhance itself regularly for disabled
people. (which one sounds better?)One of the most important policies of the company is that, they
strive to revamp / enhance /overhaul its business system continuously.( which one sounds better?)
Best Answer
The difference is in the degree of change applied to the object.
Enhancing leaves the main structure and functionality the same, most features intact, and generally speaking improves the object by applying small modifications.
Revamping often changes the basis, some fundamentals, some key features. Structure can undergo some changes, but the functionality generally is kept as is although we can see re-prioritizing of some elements.
Overhauling involves disassembling into constituent parts, examining each of them carefully for flaws, replacing with equivalent new parts (subsystems), in order to bring the system's performance closer to the original specification/idea.
Those words are not interchangeable. You could overhaul an engine of an aircraft to bring the engine back to its "factory new" performance. You could enhance an engine of an aircraft by replacing some heavier parts with lighter ones, for instance. You wouldn't revamp an engine. The latter most often used to describe a process for making fixes in a social/business system, like government, company management, etc. You could, however, revamp a design of an engine, which often includes technological part (manufacturing).