transmogrify

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 In that freedom, hip-hop music transmogrified from songs to studies. Keith Nelson, Men's Health, 12 Apr. 2023 In the 1980s and 1990s this transmogrified into an attack on science. Naomi Oreskes, Scientific American, 1 July 2020 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 Cady seduces like a snake, charming his victims into their demise, but can as quickly transmogrify into a deranged beast striking fear into the Bowden family during a torrential storm. Lea Anderson, Men's Health, 29 Aug. 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 Christians have been borrowing from other religions since the days when the pagan feast of Saturnalia transmogrified into Christmas and the Gaelic festival of Samhain became All Saints’ Day. The Economist, 24 Oct. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for transmogrify
Verb
  • Now the conspiracy is mutating again to fit the administration’s reversal.
    Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 10 July 2025
  • Since viruses and bacteria are always mutating, an immune system that can quickly adapt is more resilient.
    Starre Vartan, CNN Money, 7 July 2025
Verb
  • After his first round of the treatment in 2021, he was left deformed.
    Charles Trepany, USA Today, 24 July 2025
  • Slight temperature changes can deform the mirror, causing the image to blur, but 232 actuators behind the mirrors help to nudge everything back into focus.
    IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 23 June 2025
Verb
  • Diabolical medical experiments were carried out without anesthesia, deliberately infecting victims with diseases, subjecting them to freezing temperatures, disfiguring operations and worse.
    Boston Herald editorial staff, Boston Herald, 15 June 2025
  • Kiki reveals that Jocelyn is very much alive and lives on an island off the coast of Washington and hasn’t been seen in public for over 10 years because she was disfigured by plastic surgery after the divorce.
    Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025
Verb
  • By enhancing responsiveness and reducing friction, AI is not just shaping but redefining how brands build loyalty and drive conversions.
    Aleks Farseev, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
  • Inspired by Bill Cosby's stand-up routines — which were, in turn, based on his own family life — the NBC series emerged as a cultural touchstone that redefined the sitcom genre.
    Allison DeGrushe Published, EW.com, 21 July 2025
Verb
  • Over time, that line has been distorted beyond recognition, used more to silence churches than to protect them.
    Lauren Cooley, Sun Sentinel, 21 July 2025
  • First, Jane Street intentionally distorted the less liquid cash market to profit on the more liquid options market.
    Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 18 July 2025
Verb
  • The measure, refashioned from earlier proposals to abolish the lottery outright, now moves to the Texas House as the Legislature's session approaches its June 2 close.
    James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 May 2025
  • In the foreground, the building under construction in 1999 is now set to be refashioned into Dolly Parton's SongTeller Hotel.
    Liz Schubauer, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
Verb
  • In response, family offices are redesigning reward architecture.
    Francois Botha, Forbes.com, 20 July 2025
  • The pockets have also been redesigned to be more accessible, and St. Pierre tells us that the new packs feel more luxurious and more durable.
    Scott Gilbertson, Wired News, 16 July 2025
Verb
  • One was a report from the House Intelligence Committee drafted by Republicans in 2017 and revised in 2020.
    Sudiksha Kochi, USA Today, 25 July 2025
  • Phoenix police revised its operations orders in February 2025, requiring officers to take extreme heat and related factors into account, said Donna Rossi, director of communications with the Phoenix Police Department.
    Perry Vandell, AZCentral.com, 23 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Transmogrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/transmogrify. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.

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