sea change

noun

1
archaic : a change brought about by the sea
2
: a marked change : transformation
a sea change in public policy

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In William Shakespeare's The Tempest, a sea change is a change brought about by the sea, as illustrated by the words of the sprite Ariel to Ferdinand, said to make the prince believe that his father has perished in a shipwreck: "Full fathom five thy father lies...; / Nothing of him that doth fade / But doth suffer a sea-change / into something rich and strange." This meaning of sea change is the original one, but it's now archaic. Long after sea change had gained its figurative meaning—that of any marked or permanent transformation—writers nonetheless continued to allude to Shakespeare's literal one; Charles Dickens, Henry David Thoreau, and P.G. Wodehouse all used the term as an object of the verb suffer, but now a sea change is just as likely to be undergone or experienced.

Examples of sea change in a Sentence

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The Justice Department is now all but threatening states and localities to comply with this sea change, to their own detriment and the country’s. New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 24 Jan. 2025 And these kinds of changes, huge sea changes, are happening. Emily Brooks, The Hill, 16 Jan. 2025 But what seemed like a sea change may in fact have been a blip. Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Jan. 2025 Corporate America has not been slow in anticipating the policy sea change away from that of the outgoing Biden administration. Gus Alexiou, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for sea change 

Word History

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sea change was in 1612

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Dictionary Entries Near sea change

Cite this Entry

“Sea change.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sea%20change. Accessed 10 Feb. 2025.

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