self-transformation

noun

self-trans·​for·​ma·​tion ˌself-ˌtran(t)s-fər-ˈmā-shən How to pronounce self-transformation (audio)
-fȯr-
plural self-transformations
: the act, process, or result of transforming oneself
And then, like an epiphany, [Cindy] Fricke's self-acceptance sparked self-transformation. … Fricke lost 130 pounds in one year, while feeling "this time was different."Cate Jones
Ahead is my step-by-step guide for going on your own journey of self-transformation, without the fear of having to shave your whole head after a slip of the scissors.Maia Rabenold
especially : a transforming of one's own thoughts, actions, or behavior
spiritual self-transformation
My abiding faith in the possibility of self-transformation propelled me from one therapist to the next … Daphne Merkin
self-transformational adjective
self-transformational experiences
self-transformative adjective
a self-transformative process
self-transforming adjective
… cosmetic surgery, fad diets and other self-transforming regimes … Alexander Fury

Examples of self-transformation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Video ‘The Amateur’ | Anatomy of a Scene 1:39 For all his self-transformation, Charlie is still just some guy. Sean T. Collins, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025 The result is a comic parable about the possibilities, and the perils, of self-transformation. The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024 The film follows a once-famous star of Georgian cinema, who — triggered by a casting session with a young female director — embarks on a bizarre and fatalistic odyssey of self-transformation. Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 19 Aug. 2024 In 2016, Pettitt published what turned out to be something between a guidebook to traditional womanhood and a memoir of self-transformation through faith. Sophie Elmhirst, The New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2024 No formal experiment was conducted to verify this, but the book applied this 21-day timeline to self-transformation in many other wide-ranging aspects of life. Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, Scientific American, 24 Jan. 2024 His climb was meant to crown a season of self-transformation. Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2023 The book is, in equal parts, a memoir, a design journal, a travel guide, a blueprint for starting one’s own business, and even a guide to adopting a spiritual practice, which became an integral—if unexpected—component of Martin’s own self-transformation and assimilation abroad. Laura Neilson, Vogue, 17 Oct. 2023 Shifting gears towards Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), ditches 1989‘s self-transformations and whirlwind romance snapshots for Speak Now‘s similar, much younger, navigations of early adulthood and all that entails. Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 17 Mar. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1835, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of self-transformation was in 1835

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Self-transformation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-transformation. Accessed 20 May. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!