transmogrify

Definition of transmogrifynext

Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of transmogrify are convert, metamorphose, transfigure, transform, and transmute. While all these words mean "to change a thing into a different thing," transmogrify suggests a strange or preposterous metamorphosis.

a story in which a frog is transmogrified into a prince

When is convert a more appropriate choice than transmogrify?

While the synonyms convert and transmogrify are close in meaning, convert implies a change fitting something for a new or different use or function.

converted the study into a nursery

When is it sensible to use metamorphose instead of transmogrify?

The meanings of metamorphose and transmogrify largely overlap; however, metamorphose suggests an abrupt or startling change induced by or as if by magic or a supernatural power.

awkward girls metamorphosed into graceful ballerinas

In what contexts can transfigure take the place of transmogrify?

The synonyms transfigure and transmogrify are sometimes interchangeable, but transfigure implies a change that exalts or glorifies.

joy transfigured her face

When can transform be used instead of transmogrify?

While in some cases nearly identical to transmogrify, transform implies a major change in form, nature, or function.

transformed a small company into a corporate giant

When might transmute be a better fit than transmogrify?

In some situations, the words transmute and transmogrify are roughly equivalent. However, 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 transmogrify During the negotiations between Obama and Raúl, there was still the idea that somehow parts of the revolution—its socialist project—could be saved, and that Cuba could somehow transmogrify into a fairer, more modern place with a social cradle. Caroline Mimbs Nyce, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025 Unlike conventional corn syrup, a form of glucose derived from starch that has been around for over 200 years, high fructose corn syrup wasn’t developed until after World War II, when scientists in Japan began tinkering with the grain, hoping to transmogrify this staple into new products. Stephen Mihm, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2025 In that freedom, hip-hop music transmogrified from songs to studies. Keith Nelson, Men's Health, 12 Apr. 2023 After 40 years of getting worked over, Mercury would be transmogrified, or almost magically altered, and totally kaput. Adam Hadhazy, Popular Mechanics, 7 Mar. 2023 Or change its identity or transmogrify into a different social function of a space. Erik Morse, Vogue, 31 Jan. 2023 For those looking to dig deeper, here are the best books that deconstruct, analyze, and even transmogrify the star known as Marilyn Monroe. Nathan Smith, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2022 For most basketball fans, that joy will transmogrify into disappointment, sadness or even fleeting anger once their favorite team is eliminated. Paul Eisenberg, chicagotribune.com, 21 Mar. 2021 In the 1980s and 1990s this transmogrified into an attack on science. Naomi Oreskes, Scientific American, 1 July 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for transmogrify
Verb
  • Most organisms use tens of thousands of protein types, and each can be mutated, modified and measured in different ways and in countless environments.
    Marc Zimmer, The Conversation, 24 Feb. 2026
  • In more ways than one, this war has mutated into an ugly numbers game.
    Matthew Chance, CNN Money, 21 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • So when the truck is moving, the tires are continually being deformed and returning to their proper shape.
    Rhett Allain, Wired News, 10 Mar. 2026
  • Going to space is harsh on the human body, and as a new study from our research team finds, the brain shifts upward and backward and deforms inside the skull after spaceflight.
    Rachael Seidler, Space.com, 7 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • The trouble is, the new growth is highly susceptible to a disfiguring disease called Entomosporium leaf spot.
    Steve Bender, Southern Living, 10 Mar. 2026
  • Hollenbeck and Watkins were reacting to the news outlets’ series, which examined allegations of disfiguring injuries or even deaths tied to cosmetic surgeries.
    Fred Schulte, NBC news, 10 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • When to start medication Over the last decade, doctors have redefined hypertension.
    Mara Gordon, NPR, 17 Mar. 2026
  • Papa is a trailblazing director who redefined cinema.
    Sarah Sotoodeh , Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 17 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Rates reversal Historically low mortgage rates, spurred by deep economic uncertainty during the pandemic’s worst days, helped to distort the market.
    Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Ogalla said she was targeted by six mailings from Gallagher’s campaign that distorted her voting record, especially on property taxes and her efforts to reduce truck traffic.
    Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Others were quick to point out that jewels from the royal collection are regularly refashioned and worn by multiple people, such as the Cullinan III and IV brooch that Queen Mary (Queen Elizabeth II’s grandmother) once wore as a necklace.
    Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 13 Mar. 2026
  • To what extent should these questions be overlooked if refashioning old movies will introduce them to new audiences?
    Holly Willis, The Conversation, 13 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • The last in that list is located in Austin’s bustling Warehouse District, where old warehouses have been ingeniously redesigned to host restaurants, bars, and shops.
    Amelia Mularz, Architectural Digest, 17 Mar. 2026
  • The plan calls for more lanes, but also a strong investment in mass transit, with new and redesigned bus stops to connect downtown Boise to its border with Eagle and Garden City at Horseshoe Bend Road.
    Mark Dee March 17, Idaho Statesman, 17 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Takaichi has pledged to revise Japan's security and defense policy by December and seeks to further bolster Japan's military with unmanned combative weapons and long-range missiles.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Mar. 2026
  • The announcement comes after Mamdani pledged to revise the city's police response in non-criminal emergencies, including mental health crises.
    Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 19 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Transmogrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/transmogrify. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.

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