life-changing

adjective

life-chang·​ing ˈlīf-ˌchān-jiŋ 

: having or capable of having a significant impact on someone's life

a life-changing career opportunity

a life-changing injury

… in 1986 he took a year off to travel. The experience was life-changing and led to his 1991 decision to pursue writing full-time.

—Carolyn Hart

(humorous) Made with fresh carrots, pineapple, a blend of warm spices and a homemade brown butter cream cheese frosting, this carrot cake recipe is life-changing …

—Jocelyn Delk Adams

Examples of life-changing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While no one matched all six numbers, several players still scored life-changing prizes. — Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 9 Aug. 2026

In Tony, Bourdain embarks on his life-changing summer in Provincetown in part because his Vassar College crush, Nancy Putkoski, spends her summer there working at a pizza shop. — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 8 Aug. 2026

This unique union of cultures and flavors didn’t just collide in the kitchen one day—these dishes required long, arduous, life-changing journeys in order to land before me. — Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Aug. 2026

Seeing these Black men rock out in a room filled with Black people was life-changing. — Literary Hub, 7 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1747, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for life-changing

• interchanging
• rearranging
• arranging
• exchanging
• unchanging
• changing
• ranging