becoming

[ bih-kuhm-ing ]
See synonyms for: becomingbecomingsbecominglybecomingness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. that suits or gives a pleasing effect or attractive appearance, as to a person or thing: a becoming dress; a becoming hairdo.

  2. suitable; appropriate; proper: a becoming sentiment.

noun
  1. any process of change.

  2. Aristotelianism. any change involving realization of potentialities, as a movement from the lower level of potentiality to the higher level of actuality.

Origin of becoming

1
First recorded in 1555–65; become + -ing1, -ing2

Other words for becoming

Other words from becoming

  • be·com·ing·ly, adverb
  • be·com·ing·ness, noun
  • well-be·com·ing, adjective

Words Nearby becoming

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use becoming in a sentence

  • His repeated coughing seemed a constant warning that at any moment he might be vanquished in the struggle for becoming silence.

  • The others being all agreed, Tom consented, with becoming modesty, to take the post of honour and of danger.

    Hunting the Lions | R.M. Ballantyne
  • There was in his voice a sound of warm yet almost childlike enthusiasm, with which she was becoming very familiar.

    Bella Donna | Robert Hichens
  • The varnish is of first quality, and his violins are yearly becoming more valuable and of greater importance.

  • Fine examples of the works of his pupils are now becoming very valuable, and are well worthy attention.

British Dictionary definitions for becoming

becoming

/ (bɪˈkʌmɪŋ) /


adjective
  1. suitable; appropriate

noun
  1. any process of change

  2. (in the philosophy of Aristotle) any change from the lower level of potentiality to the higher level of actuality

Derived forms of becoming

  • becomingly, adverb
  • becomingness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012