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
  • In the games, the virus is used as a type of biological warfare that can mutate those exposed to it.
    Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Measles mutates slowly enough that researchers can in many cases search for essentially the same strain when tracking its movements.
    Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Hadi tells an engaging story, brings complex and surprising characters to life, lends a locale an aesthetic iconography, and renders personal identity inextricable from the forces of history that shaped or deformed it.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Conventional drones hit their limits at around 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) as their frame deforms and electronics fail.
    Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 26 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Use a sharp pair of pruners and be careful not to disfigure the shrub or tree while harvesting branches.
    Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
  • Born from Raimi’s desire to make a movie about pulp hero the Shadow before he was denied the rights by Universal, Darkman is an original creation, starring Liam Neeson as a scientist who is disfigured in a mob attack and given superpowers thanks to an experimental treatment.
    James Grebey, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • These services helped redefine what community care and support looked like in America.
    Mary Lee, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Ferrari’s legacy has been built on frequently redefining the crossroads of automotive form and function at the highest level.
    Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 9 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • The revision comes from analyzing how radio signals sent by Juno bend and distort as the spacecraft passes behind Jupiter from Earth’s point of view.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Feb. 2026
  • Today’s staged raid reinforces our conviction that this investigation distorts French law, circumvents due process, and endangers free speech.
    Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s big electoral win cleared the path for the conservative leader to refashion her country’s pacifist constitution.
    Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 9 Feb. 2026
  • And meaningful progress turns out to be much harder than simply refashioning an exhibit or a docent’s spiel.
    Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Their goal was to enable faster decision-making without completely redesigning existing camera systems.
    Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 11 Feb. 2026
  • As new abilities improve, Fauna can add them through software updates rather than redesigning the hardware.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 10 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Additionally, Mohan emphasized Western Digital’s revised long-term growth targets.
    TipRanks, CNBC, 8 Feb. 2026
  • Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio.
    Bill Chappell, NPR, 7 Feb. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Transmogrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/transmogrify. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.

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