sea change
noun
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In The Tempest, William Shakespeare’s final play, sea change refers to a change brought about by the sea: the sprite Ariel, who aims to make Ferdinand believe that his father the king has perished in a shipwreck, sings within earshot of the prince, “Full fathom five thy father lies...; / Nothing of him that doth fade / But doth suffer a sea-change / into something rich and strange.” This is the original, now-archaic meaning of sea change. Today the term is used for a distinctive change or transformation. Long after sea change gained this figurative meaning, however, writers 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
Hunter Ingram, Variety, 5 Mar. 2026
Legendary billionaire investor Howard Marks, cofounder and cochairman of Oaktree Capital Management, has spent decades navigating financial manias, sea changes in interest rates, and the shifting pendulums of investor psychology.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 3 Mar. 2026
Others jump to mark—or spark a personal sea change.
—Maya Silver, Outside, 25 Feb. 2026
The masterful composer managed to match director George Lucas' vision with an opening theme that fit the bill, announcing the sea change with a blast of brass that no doubt caused first-time viewers to jump in their seats.
—Alex Galbraith, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sea change
Cite this Entry
“Sea change.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sea%20change. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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