sea change
noun
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In William Shakespeare's The Tempest, a sea change is a change brought about by the sea, as illustrated by the words of the sprite Ariel to Ferdinand, said to make the prince believe that his father has perished in a shipwreck: "Full fathom five thy father lies...; / Nothing of him that doth fade / But doth suffer a sea-change / into something rich and strange." This meaning of sea change is the original one, but it's now archaic. Long after sea change had gained its figurative meaning—that of any marked or permanent transformation—writers nonetheless continued to allude to Shakespeare's literal one; Charles Dickens, Henry David Thoreau, and P.G. Wodehouse all used the term as an object of the verb suffer, but now a sea change is just as likely to be undergone or experienced.
Examples of sea change in a Sentence
Billy Witz, New York Times, 24 May 2024
The closure of the frontier marked a watershed in immigration history but also a sea change in America’s Indigenous relations.
—Matthew Smith, The Conversation, 21 May 2024
The Ravens’ tackle choice reflected a sea change under Todd Monken
This was another stylistic conundrum.
—Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 29 Apr. 2024
For much of its existence, Renaissance funds were the largest quant funds on Wall Street, and its style of investing spurred a sea change in the way hedge funds traded and made money for their wealthy investors and pension funds.
—Jonathan Kandell, New York Times, 10 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for sea change 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sea change.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near sea change
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“Sea change.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sea%20change. Accessed 6 Jun. 2024.
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