verb
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to change or cause to change in appearance
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to become or cause to become more exalted
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of transfigure
1250–1300; Middle English transfiguren < Latin trānsfigūrāre to change in shape. See trans-, figure
Explanation
To transfigure is to change or alter something, often so that it becomes even more amazing or beautiful. That colorful mural you painted really transfigures your bedroom! Transfigure has a Latin root, transfigurare, "change the shape of." While its meaning is similar to transform, there's usually an additional sense of "make better" in transfigure. When you come home dirty and tired after a camping trip, a hot shower and clean clothes will transfigure you. And adding grated cheese, chopped basil, and a drizzle of good olive oil can transfigure a simple dish of pasta.
Vocabulary lists containing transfigure
The Pearl
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Of course, the ideal solution would be for you to Transfigure yourself into a submarine or something,” Hermione said.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
Transfigure it, as it may be transfigured, by courage, by devotion, by voluntary abandonment of life for a higher good, and it remains nevertheless the last enemy.
From The Atonement and the Modern Mind by Denney, James
Glimmers . . . goes out . . . and there, O, there where it fades, What grace, what glamour, what wild will, Transfigure the shadows?
From Poems by Henley, William Ernest
The grey road glooms . . . p. 65Glimmers . . . goes out . . . and there, O there where it fades, What grace, what glamour, what wild will, Transfigure the shadows?
From The Song of the Sword and Other Verses by Henley, William Ernest
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
