transmogrify

American  

[trans-mog-ruh-fahy, tranz-] / trænsˈmɒg rəˌfaɪ, trænz- /

verb (used with object)

transmogrified, transmogrifying

1. to change in appearance or form, especially strangely or grotesquely; transform.

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transmogrify British  

/ trænzˈmɒɡrɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. humorous (tr) to change or transform into a different shape, esp a grotesque or bizarre one

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Other Word Forms

• transmogrification noun

Etymology

Origin of transmogrify

1650–60; earlier also transmigrify, transmography; apparently a pseudo-Latinism with transfigure or transmigrate + -ify

Explanation

You've seen something transmogrify, or transform completely, if you've ever watched the process of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. Use the verb transmogrify when a person or thing changes in a way that surprises you. A fairy tale frog transmogrifies into a prince in one well-known story, and a tomboy might be said to transmogrify when she puts on a frilly dress to be a flower girl in a wedding. The origin of transmogrify isn't clear, although one theory is that it was a mistake made long ago, when someone meant to say transmigrate, or "pass into another body after death."

Example Sentences

He would soon transmogrify these mostly dismal experiences into art.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

It’s likely in the middle of that process now, and could transmogrify itself into a star in as little as 200,000 years.

From Scientific American • Apr. 24, 2023

Iota by iota, debris was thought to transmogrify into flies.

From New York Times • May 28, 2021

The play is treated as though it might at any moment transmogrify into a musical.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2019

If your boat and my knowledge doesn't transmogrify us from a pair of stone-brokes into a couple of bloated millionaires, I'm a Dutchman.

From The Recipe for Diamonds by Hyne, Charles John Cutcliffe Wright