shape-shifter
noun
shape-shift·er
ˈshāp-ˌshif-tər 
: one that seems able to change form or identity at will
especially
: a mythical figure that can assume different forms (as of animals)
Examples of shape-shifter in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This tangy shape-shifter has endured millennia of social and technological evolution and has emerged a culinary powerhouse many cooks can’t live or leaven without.
—
Emily Saladino, Bon Appetit Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026
Like previous winners Everything Everywhere All at Once and Anora, OBAA was an Oscars shape-shifter capable of embodying multiple narratives at the same time.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2026
In his experiences and chronicles of the great ideological battles of the twentieth century, Curzio Malaparte was a shape-shifter—pitiless, clinical, cynical, unsentimental, indifferent to morality and idealism.
—Leah Downey, The New York Review of Books, 7 Feb. 2026
In this telling, Warsh is a partisan shape-shifter who advocates for high interest rates (which results in slower growth and higher unemployment) under Democrats and lower rates (faster growth, lower unemployment) under Republicans.
—Rogé Karma, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026
Someone was calling me a shape-shifter the other day.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 18 June 2025
When casting the band of brotherly shape-shifters, Weitz insisted on authenticity and required everyone who auditioned to provide documentation of their Native American heritage.
—Samantha Stutsman, People.com, 3 May 2025
But yeah, Pisces is totally that shape-shifter, that just kind of picks up different interests throughout their lives.
—Roya Backlund, StyleCaster, 16 Oct. 2024
While Coqotamat is a shape-shifter who wears the faces of a thousand women to lure children away and swallow them whole, the girls are running away from a fate that has been wearing the same face for generations.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
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Emily Saladino, Bon Appetit Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026
Like previous winners Everything Everywhere All at Once and Anora, OBAA was an Oscars shape-shifter capable of embodying multiple narratives at the same time.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2026
In his experiences and chronicles of the great ideological battles of the twentieth century, Curzio Malaparte was a shape-shifter—pitiless, clinical, cynical, unsentimental, indifferent to morality and idealism.
—Leah Downey, The New York Review of Books, 7 Feb. 2026
In this telling, Warsh is a partisan shape-shifter who advocates for high interest rates (which results in slower growth and higher unemployment) under Democrats and lower rates (faster growth, lower unemployment) under Republicans.
—Rogé Karma, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026
Someone was calling me a shape-shifter the other day.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 18 June 2025
When casting the band of brotherly shape-shifters, Weitz insisted on authenticity and required everyone who auditioned to provide documentation of their Native American heritage.
—Samantha Stutsman, People.com, 3 May 2025
But yeah, Pisces is totally that shape-shifter, that just kind of picks up different interests throughout their lives.
—Roya Backlund, StyleCaster, 16 Oct. 2024
While Coqotamat is a shape-shifter who wears the faces of a thousand women to lure children away and swallow them whole, the girls are running away from a fate that has been wearing the same face for generations.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Shape-shifter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shape-shifter. Accessed 28 Mar. 2026.
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