- transform
- transform, metamorphose, transmute, convert, transmogrify, transfigure can all mean to turn or change one thing into another or a different thing or from one form into another and different form. In general, the same differences in implications and connotations are observable in the corresponding nounsTransformation, metamorphosis, transmutation, conversion, transmogrification, transfiguration. Transform may imply a mere changing of outward form or appearance{
a Hunter senior transformed into a bride floating in a white brilliant mist, on the arm of an awkward trapped-looking young man— Wouk
}{the placid sunshine . . . seems to have been transformed in a moment into imperious angry fire— Pater
}or it may imply a basic changing of character, nature, or function{transform electrical energy into light
}{to Samarcand ... we owe the art of transforming linen into paper— Newman
}{the task of transforming a heterogeneous selection of mankind into a homogeneous nation— Russell
}{too much organization transforms men and women into automata— Huxley
}Metamorphose may add implications not often present in transform such as that of a supernaturally or magically induced change{men were by the force of that herb metamorphosed into swine— Steele
}or of a fundamental change in structure and habits that characterizes the development of some forms of animal life{the caterpillar is a larva which finally metamorphoses into a butterfly or moth
}or of a transformation specifically induced by chemical or physical agencies{rocks metamorphosed by heat
}In more general use the term carries a much stronger implication than transform of an abrupt, startling, or violent change{the little song . . . later metamorphosed into one of the noblest chorales—P. L. Miller
}{a convention of maidenly modesty has metamorphosed many a fine woman into an embittered, disillusioned old maid— Kyne
}{if you deny man his intelligence, you metamorphose him into a machine
}Transmute usually suggests a fundamental change, especially one involving a meta-morphosis of a lower element or thing into a higher one{a simple romantic narrative transmuted by sheer glow or beauty into a prose poem— Galsworthy
}{Shakespeare, too, was occupied with the struggle—which alone constitutes life for a poet—to transmute his personal and private agonies into something rich and strange, something universal and impersonal— T. S. Eliot
}{in order to transmute energy to higher and more subtle levels one must first conserve it— Henry Miller
}Convert carries a slighter suggestion of change in kind, nature, or structure than the preceding terms but a stronger one of such changes in details or properties as fit something for a given use or ifunction or for a new use or function{convert iron into steel
}{nature converts the fallen trunks of trees into coal
}{having conducted their lame guest to a room in the Georgian corridor hastily converted to a bedroom— Galsworthy
}{every possible industry was converted to produce war goods— Morris Say re
}{that a new seam of richest material has been opened up and that poets are learning how to convert that raw material to their own uses—Day Lewis
}Transmogrify implies a thoroughgoing metamorphosis that is often grotesque, bewildering, or even preposterous{see Social life and Glee sit down, all joyous and unthinking, till, quite transmogrified, they're grown Debauchery and Drinking— Burns
}{wondering how the caricatured capitalism of his forebears can be transmogrified into a harmonious . . . way of life— Current Biog.
}{the classical heroes and heroines were trans-mogrified into medieval knights and ladies— Lowes
}Transfigure is often interchangeable with transform or metamorphose{her face was transfigured by uncontrollable passion— Bennett
}but more typically it suggests an exaltation or glorification of the outward appearance{Jesus . . . was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun—Mr 17:l-2
}{if she be guilty, 'twill transform her to manifest deformity ... if innocent, she will become transfigured into an angel— Shelley
}{the moment when good verse ... is transfigured into a thing that takes the breath away— Day Lewis
}Analogous words: *change, alter, modify, vary
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.
