Definition of transformnext

Synonym Chooser

How is the word transform different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of transform are convert, metamorphose, transfigure, transmogrify, and transmute. While all these words mean "to change a thing into a different thing," transform implies a major change in form, nature, or function.

transformed a small company into a corporate giant

When would convert be a good substitute for transform?

The words convert and transform are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, convert implies a change fitting something for a new or different use or function.

converted the study into a nursery

When is metamorphose a more appropriate choice than transform?

While the synonyms metamorphose and transform are close in meaning, metamorphose suggests an abrupt or startling change induced by or as if by magic or a supernatural power.

awkward girls metamorphosed into graceful ballerinas

When is it sensible to use transfigure instead of transform?

The words transfigure and transform can be used in similar contexts, but transfigure implies a change that exalts or glorifies.

joy transfigured her face

When might transmogrify be a better fit than transform?

In some situations, the words transmogrify and transform are roughly equivalent. However, transmogrify suggests a strange or preposterous metamorphosis.

a story in which a frog is transmogrified into a prince

When can transmute be used instead of transform?

The synonyms transmute and transform are sometimes interchangeable, but transmute implies transforming into a higher element or thing.

attempted to transmute lead into gold

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of transform Together, taller buildings and faster transit transformed places that were once a mix of residential, business, religion and society to almost exclusively hubs of commerce and government. Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 10 June 2026 Travelers are booking flights across oceans not to switch off, but to be transformed. Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 10 June 2026 Combined with the country’s porous land border with the Dominican Republic, the deteriorating conditions have helped transform Haiti into a regional transit hub for drug trafficking, the report found. Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 10 June 2026 Committing to practice this virtue may transform us and our communities. Daryl Van Tongeren, The Conversation, 10 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for transform
Recent Examples of Synonyms for transform
Verb
  • Powered entirely by sunlight, the system simultaneously transforms carbon dioxide into a valuable chemical while converting biomass waste into the essential building blocks for sustainable plastics.
    Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 12 June 2026
  • Both men have been arraigned in 37th District Court in Warren with nine charges each of weapons – firearms – devices to convert semiautomatic to automatic, along with one charge each of weapons – felony firearm, the sheriff's office said.
    Paula Wethington, CBS News, 12 June 2026
Verb
  • In May, the architect who remodeled the family’s country house testified that Adorni paid him $245,000 in cash.
    Javier Bastardo, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026
  • The home was remodeled in 2022.
    Brendel Clark, Freep.com, 12 June 2026
Verb
  • But the filmmaker’s imagination transfigures personal history into something not of this world, wholly original, and uniquely demented.
    Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 8 May 2026
  • Thus the god of the clan, the totemic principle, can be none other than the clan itself, but the clan transfigured and imagined.
    Glenn Adamson, Artforum, 2 May 2026
Verb
  • But the fields that sloped toward the turquoise sea weren’t about to be cultivated with the vines of Merlot grapes or Regona cider apple trees or even acorns to be transmuted into jamón Ibérico.
    Tamar Adler, Vogue, 3 June 2026
  • When presented as a wall installation, the pages are transmuted into an object signifying nothing but the imitation of writing by a depersonalized other.
    Erika Landström, Artforum, 2 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Transform.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/transform. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.

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