becoming

[ bih-kuhm-ing ]
See synonyms for becoming 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

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

How to use becoming in a sentence

  • This infinity of becomings in the life of the kosmos is a necessary outcome of eternal duration.

    The Mystery of Space | Robert T. Browne
  • Now that the war was over, he regretted the becomings of the uniform.

    The Trumpeter Swan | Temple Bailey

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