Thesaurus results for TRANSFORM

Q: How is the word 'transform' different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of transform are convert , metamorphose , transfigure , transmogrify , and transmute . While all these words mean "to change a thing into a different thing," transform implies a major change in form, nature, or function. // transformed a small company into a corporate giant

Q: When would 'convert' be a good substitute for 'transform'?

The words convert and transform are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, convert implies a change fitting something for a new or different use or function. // converted the study into a nursery

Q: When is 'metamorphose' a more appropriate choice than 'transform'?

While the synonyms metamorphose and transform are close in meaning, metamorphose suggests an abrupt or startling change induced by or as if by magic or a supernatural power. // awkward girls metamorphosed into graceful ballerinas

Q: When is it sensible to use 'transfigure' instead of 'transform'?

The words transfigure and transform can be used in similar contexts, but transfigure implies a change that exalts or glorifies. // joy transfigured her face

Q: When might 'transmogrify' be a better fit than 'transform'?

In some situations, the words transmogrify and transform are roughly equivalent. However, transmogrify suggests a strange or preposterous metamorphosis. // a story in which a frog is transmogrified into a prince

Q: When can 'transmute' be used instead of 'transform'?

The synonyms transmute and transform are sometimes interchangeable, but transmute implies transforming into a higher element or thing. // attempted to transmute lead into gold

transform

verb

tran(t)s-ˈfȯrm

Definition of transform next

as in to convert

to change in form, appearance, or use by clicking a few buttons, this toy car can be transformed into a robot

Synonyms & Similar Words

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How is the word transform different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of transform are convert, metamorphose, transfigure, transmogrify, and transmute. While all these words mean "to change a thing into a different thing," transform implies a major change in form, nature, or function.

transformed a small company into a corporate giant

When would convert be a good substitute for transform?

The words convert and transform are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, convert implies a change fitting something for a new or different use or function.

converted the study into a nursery

When is metamorphose a more appropriate choice than transform?

While the synonyms metamorphose and transform are close in meaning, metamorphose suggests an abrupt or startling change induced by or as if by magic or a supernatural power.

awkward girls metamorphosed into graceful ballerinas

When is it sensible to use transfigure instead of transform?

The words transfigure and transform can be used in similar contexts, but transfigure implies a change that exalts or glorifies.

joy transfigured her face

When might transmogrify be a better fit than transform?

In some situations, the words transmogrify and transform are roughly equivalent. However, transmogrify suggests a strange or preposterous metamorphosis.

a story in which a frog is transmogrified into a prince

When can transmute be used instead of transform?

The synonyms transmute and transform are sometimes interchangeable, but 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 transform American music transformed localized entertainment into a powerful vehicle for social critique and political protest. —

Ted Olson, The Conversation, 2 July 2026 While most Western attention remains focused on SpaceX and Elon Musk, a new generation of Chinese entrepreneurs is quietly transforming China’s role in the global space economy. —

Rainer Zitelmann, Fortune, 2 July 2026 The detailed sketch echoed Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which transformed how the world imagined the deep via fiction’s most famous submarine, Captain Nemo’s Nautilus. —

Bill Gourgey, Popular Science, 2 July 2026 In the 21st century, social media has transformed every visitor into a global storyteller. —

Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 2 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for transform

Recent Examples of Synonyms for transform

Verb

There are nods to the environmental devastation wrought by the cattle industry that dominated Southern California in the first half of the 19th century, as well as the Faustian bargain struck by Indigenous people who converted to Catholicism.

— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2026
Mark Ford Rosemary Tonks emulated French Symbolist poets before converting to Christianity and renouncing all her own works.

— The New York Review of Books, The New York Review of Books, 4 July 2026

Definition of convert

Verb

The restaurant has been completely remodeled and has added several new menu items since a May 9, 2025, roof fire.

— Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 June 2026
Ellis said the company has remodeled more than 115 restaurants and new restaurant openings are to come, including 25 locations in development across the country.

— Saleen Martin, USA Today, 26 June 2026

Definition of remodel

Verb

But the filmmaker’s imagination transfigures personal history into something not of this world, wholly original, and uniquely demented.

— Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 8 May 2026
Altman is the defendant in the case brought by Musk, who’s claiming that OpenAI illegally betrayed the company’s non-profit founding by transfiguring into a for-profit company last year.

— Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 7 May 2026

Definition of transfigure

Verb

The idea that art continues to transform and transmute and change.

— Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 30 June 2026
Afterwards, group members went on to form several other hugely meaningful outfits such as Slint, Gastr Del Sol, Bastro, Papa M and the For Carnation, transmuting Squirrel Bait’s Reagan-era aggression into more esoteric, impossible-to-classify sonic explorations.

— Jonathan Cohen, SPIN, 25 June 2026