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 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 See All Example Sentences for transmogrify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for transmogrify
Verb
  • But sometimes, a single one of these letters will mutate, swapping an A for a G, for instance.
    — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Stars Gianna Jun as Professor Se-jeong, who is thrust into a bloody nightmare when a rapidly mutating virus is released during a biotech conference, causing authorities to seal the facility.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • On a map, Newfoundland is a vast, asymmetrical island, cloven by bays and inlets, semi-detached to appendages of land deformed by ancient glaciers scraping over it, leaving glacial striations, grooves and gouges on its granite face.
    — Paul Theroux, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The pilot can then adjust speed and make turns by pulling steering brake lines to deform the trailing edge or shifting weight in the harness.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 4 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • In July, the Wall Street Journal published an interview with Eui Seok Kang, who was severely disfigured when the airbag of his Chevrolet Malibu detonated after a crash.
    — Jerry Perez, The Drive, 24 Sep. 2026
  • No evidence could prove that Mulderrig, who was 60 at the time of the crash, felt pain or lived long enough to deal with being disfigured, Hogan said.
    — Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Related On the 10-track set, Santiler, a former 2025 Billboard On the Radar Latin artist, seamlessly navigates from alternative to jazz to electronic, while fearlessly redefining Latin pop music.
    — Jessica Roiz, Billboard, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The two series, which are free and open to the public, offer complementary perspectives on leadership and innovation — one from those who have shaped industries and the other from those actively redefining them.
    — Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 25 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Ramirez’s two classmates, an Asian woman and a white man, remained in the edited version, but they were changed to appear thinner, and their facial features were noticeably distorted.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Controlling for certain variables called colliders can distort the effect a study is interested in.
    — Mark Louie Ramos, The Conversation, 25 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • When the efforts to dismantle the agency failed, Vought and his allies instead refashioned it into an industry-friendly regulator.
    — Joel Jacobs, ProPublica, 23 Sep. 2026
  • The comparison also fits because of the modern tech bros’ constant attempts (following Steve Jobs’s lead) to refashion themselves as magicians.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • But their greatest impact comes when organizations redesign workflows around this new way of working.
    — Bryan Goode, Fortune, 26 Sep. 2026
  • The 2027 Silverado gets a broader, more muscular face, a new grille and redesigned LED lighting, while the bodywork has been massaged to make the truck look even more substantial.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 25 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • An institution unable to revise imagery becomes a museum of assumptions.
    — Frank Porcu, New York Daily News, 20 Sep. 2026
  • The process has been slowed by lagging voter and political-party registrations, revised and extended deadlines and, now, another pending change to the country’s electoral law — developments that the international community is watching closely.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 19 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Transmogrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/transmogrify. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

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