When a metamorphosis occurs, a person or thing develops and changes into something completely different.
[formal]
...his metamorphosis from a republican to a democrat.
The employment department has undergone several metamorphoses.
Synonyms: transformation, conversion, alteration, change More Synonyms of metamorphosis
metamorphosis in British English
(ˌmɛtəˈmɔːfəsɪs, ˌmɛtəmɔːˈfəʊsɪs)
nounWord forms: plural-ses (-ˌsiːz)
1.
a complete change of physical form or substance
2.
a complete change of character, appearance, etc
3.
a person or thing that has undergone metamorphosis
4. zoology
the rapid transformation of a larva into an adult that occurs in certain animals, for example the stage between tadpole and frog or between chrysalis and butterfly
Word origin
C16: via Latin from Greek: transformation, from meta- + morphē form
change of form, shape, structure, or substance; transformation, as, in myths, by magic or sorcery
b.
the form resulting from such change
2.
a marked or complete change of character, appearance, condition, etc.
3. Biology
a change in form, structure, or function as a result of development; specif., the physical transformation, more or less sudden, undergone by various animals during development after the embryonic state, as of the larva of an insect to the pupa and the pupa to the adult, or of the tadpole to the frog
4. Medicine
a pathological change of form of some tissues
Word origin
L < Gr metamorphōsis < metamorphoun, to transform, transfigure < meta, over (see meta-) + morphē, form, shape
Examples of 'metamorphosis' in a sentence
metamorphosis
With the addition of steps and a safety ramp, the metamorphosis is complete.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Perhaps it will matter less as his south Londoner metamorphosis continues.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
As the social composition of this secular constituency has undergone a metamorphosis, so too has its demographics.
Greeley, Andrew M. Sociology and Religion: A Collection of Readings (1995)
If any of these conditions is present in your industry, the chances for sudden and chaotic metamorphosis go up.
Larry Downes THE STRATEGY MACHINE (2002)
Today, the metamorphosis is complete.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We often hear about the gentrification of football, and perhaps the demographics have undergone a metamorphosis in the past couple of decades.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Is Brick Lane now undergoing another metamorphosis?
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Essentially you do indeed undergo a metamorphosis on reaching 35. You become invisible.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
If the forms were not perpetually being destroyed, they could not alter, could undergo no metamorphosis.
Thompkins, Peter, Bird, Christopher Secrets of the Soil (1990)
In fact, nature will be so changed and will undergo such a metamorphosis that we won't get sick.
Christianity Today (2000)
In other languages
metamorphosis
British English: metamorphosis NOUN
When a metamorphosis occurs, a person or thing develops and changes into something completely different.
...his metamorphosis from one extreme to the other.
American English: metamorphosis
Brazilian Portuguese: metamorfose
Chinese: 变质
European Spanish: metamorfosis
French: métamorphose
German: Verwandlung
Italian: metamorfosi
Japanese: 大変貌
Korean: 변모
European Portuguese: metamorfose
Latin American Spanish: metamorfosis
Definition of 'metamorphosis'
(noun)
Definition
a complete change of character or appearance
his metamorphosis from a republican to a democrat
Synonyms
transformation
the transformation of an attic room into a study
conversion
the conversion of disused rail lines into cycle routes
alteration
Her jacket and skirt were still awaiting alteration.
change
They are going to have to make some drastic changes.
mutation
the film's mutation from domestic drama into courtroom thriller
rebirth
changeover
transfiguration
transmutation
transubstantiation
transmogrification (humorous)
Additional synonyms
in the sense of alteration
Definition
a change or modification
Her jacket and skirt were still awaiting alteration.
Synonyms
adjustment,
change,
amendment,
variation,
conversion,
transformation,
adaptation,
difference,
revision,
modification,
remodelling,
reformation,
diversification,
makeover,
metamorphosis,
variance,
reshaping,
transmutation
in the sense of change
Definition
the fact of becoming different
They are going to have to make some drastic changes.
Synonyms
alteration,
innovation,
transformation,
modification,
mutation,
metamorphosis,
permutation,
transmutation,
difference,
revolution,
transition,
vicissitude
in the sense of conversion
Definition
a change or adaptation
the conversion of disused rail lines into cycle routes
Synonyms
change,
transformation,
metamorphosis,
transfiguration,
transmutation,
transmogrification (humorous)
Nearby words of
metamorphosis
metal
metallic
metamorphose
metamorphosis
metaphor
metaphorical
metaphysical
Synonyms of 'metamorphosis'
metamorphosis
Explore 'metamorphosis' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of mutation
Definition
a change in the chromosomes or genes of a cell which may affect the structure and development of the resultant offspring
the film's mutation from domestic drama into courtroom thriller