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
  • New products arrive weekly, existing ones mutate with each model upgrade and the falling cost of building software means that every startup with a large-language model and a pitch deck now claims to be reinventing the category.
    Eilon Reshef, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
  • Things reportedly spiral after a strange signal hidden beneath the city’s subway tunnels begins mutating the station’s broadcasts — and possibly its listeners.
    SPIN Staff, SPIN, 14 May 2026
Verb
  • When subjected to stress, the sponge-like matrix allows the material to deform predictably and absorb vast amounts of kinetic energy rather than snap.
    Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 19 May 2026
  • Bathed in sunlight, deformed by the wide angle shot, there was our living room.
    Francesco Pacifico, The Dial, 12 May 2026
Verb
  • Foster pleaded guilty to one count of attempt to kill, disfigure, or maim an animal of another in June, according to the court record.
    James Powel, USA Today, 15 May 2026
  • The disfiguring bulge in Dinah’s lower face went away.
    Stephen King, The Atlantic, 15 May 2026
Verb
  • But a major shift is unfolding at the top of the market, as affluent women increasingly drive purchases, influence design priorities, and, in the process, redefine what luxury living looks like.
    Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 19 May 2026
  • Instant payments offer a level of transaction management and liquidity visibility to businesses by redefining fintech innovation.
    Dr. Saheer Nelliparamban, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
Verb
  • The body does not care about your percentile ranking when the anatomy is distorted, the bleeding starts, and the room becomes quiet.
    Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2026
  • Employers know—or should know—that personal relationships can distort workplace decision making, even when no one intends them to.
    William Phillips, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
Verb
  • Seen on view together for the first time since London’s Boydell Shakespeare Gallery closed in 1805, 14 paintings depict pivotal scenes from William Shakespeare’s plays while also speaking to how the playwright was refashioned into a cultural icon.
    Washington Post staff, Washington Post, 15 May 2026
  • The project is one more makeover refashioning the nation’s capital to Trump’s liking, following others such as the demolition of the White House's East Wing to make room for a new ballroom.
    ABC News, ABC News, 23 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • There's also a promise of underground parking and redesigned intersections to improve traffic flow.
    J.D. Miles, CBS News, 19 May 2026
  • Independent leg, arm, torso, and head sections connect through universal motor mounting fixtures, allowing users to swap or upgrade components without redesigning the entire platform.
    Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 18 May 2026
Verb
  • The Commanders revised their defense and will now operate in Jones’ system, which could look quite similar to Brian Flores’ defense with the Minnesota Vikings.
    Nicki Jhabvala, New York Times, 15 May 2026
  • That means updating our building codes to require more fire-resistant materials; revising our land-use policies to minimize building in predictably flammable areas at the edge of wildlands; and disincentivizing oil companies from further exacerbating climate change.
    Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial Boards, Mercury News, 15 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

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

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