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
Peter Larsen, Oc Register, 8 Jan. 2026
Aldermen becoming the budget decision-makers is only the latest product of a political sea change long in motion.
—Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
The 2010 law is more popular than ever, a sea change from 15 years ago, when Americans were more evenly divided on the law.
—Sam Gringlas, NPR, 17 Dec. 2025
Finally, the shift may result in sea changes on a variety of other issues, as well.
—Brian Winter, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
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 20 Jan. 2026.
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