transform
Americanverb (used with object)
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to change in form, appearance, or structure; metamorphose.
- Synonyms:
- transfigure
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to change in condition, nature, or character; convert.
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to change into another substance; transmute.
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Electricity.
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to increase or decrease (the voltage and current characteristics of an alternating-current circuit), as by means of a transformer.
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to decrease (the voltage and current characteristics of a direct-current circuit), as by means of a transformer.
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Mathematics. to change the form of (a figure, expression, etc.) without in general changing the value.
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Physics. to change into another form of energy.
verb (used without object)
noun
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Mathematics.
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a mathematical quantity obtained from a given quantity by an algebraic, geometric, or functional transformation.
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the transformation itself.
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the result of a transformation.
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a transformation.
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Logic. transformation.
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Linguistics. a structure derived by a transformation.
verb
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to alter or be altered radically in form, function, etc
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(tr) to convert (one form of energy) to another form
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(tr) maths to change the form of (an equation, expression, etc) by a mathematical transformation
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(tr) to increase or decrease (an alternating current or voltage) using a transformer
noun
Synonym Usage
Transform , convert mean to change one thing into another. Transform suggests changing from one form, appearance, structure, or type to another: to transform soybeans into oil and meal by pressure. Convert suggests so changing the characteristics as to change the use or purpose: to convert a barn into a house.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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retransformverb (used with object)
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intertransformableadjective
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nontransformingadjective
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self-transformedadjective
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transformableadjective
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transformativeadjective
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untransformableadjective
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untransformedadjective
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untransformingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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transformsimple
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transformssimple
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have transformedperfect
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has transformedperfect
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am transformingprogressive
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are transformingprogressive
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is transformingprogressive
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have been transformingperfect progressive
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has been transformingperfect progressive
Past
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transformedsimple
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had transformedperfect
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was transformingprogressive
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were transformingprogressive
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had been transformingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of transform
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English transformen, from Latin trānsfōrmāre “to change in shape”; see trans-, form
Explanation
When you transform you change from one thing or state to another. Picture a transformer that changes from a robot to a car. Simple, right? Caterpillars transform into butterflies, a forest is transformed by a snowfall, and a city can be transformed by a new government or a changing economy. Transform means a big change in appearance or in essence. The Internet has transformed how we live our day-to-day lives, but you wouldn't say that moving a throw pillow has transformed your living room.
Vocabulary lists containing transform
Shape Up: Form
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Starting Your New Life: Inspiring Words from Commencement Speeches
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Brown Girl Dreaming
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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.
See Examples For:
He told ProPublica that he wants to transform lives and guide students to college, trade school or the military.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
LeBron James announced on Friday he will play for the Philadelphia 76ers next season, with the 41-year-old NBA superstar hoping to transform another franchise into a championship team.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Plans to transform and regenerate the world-leading Crystal Palace National Sports Centre are set to be approved by Bromley Council.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
One of them is the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, a $3.5 billion project to transform a Brooklyn waterfront into a new maritime district with an all-electric shipping port and thousands of new apartments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
I wanted to use my talent to transform people’s lives and how they saw the world.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
It is a calculus playing out across the tech industry as a new generation of AI-powered coding assistants transforms how software gets built.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
The weather transforms the course so dramatically that it can completely change character in a matter of weeks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
He used those reference images for the AI character and transforms them into a stylized person, with a personality, backstory and visual details.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
When the powder comes into contact with blood, it reacts with cations such as calcium and transforms into a gel in about one second, rapidly sealing the wound.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 2026
It grows into a yell, which transforms into a scream, and then I’m standing on the ledge of the Merciless Mart, screaming as the chair sails toward the ground, screaming until my throat burns.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
They gave him a comically huge glove—and it appears to have transformed Sasaki into the untouchable flamethrower he was always supposed to be.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Watch the recording to catch their lively discussion about how influencers have transformed media, storytelling, and entertainment.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026
Swimming, one of the marquee sports of the Summer Games, will take place in SoFi Stadium, which will be transformed into the largest Olympic swimming venue in history.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Once a fatal and terrifying diagnosis, scientific breakthroughs and massive funding efforts have transformed HIV into a manageable disease for millions of people.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
It is this assumption that there are new discoveries to be made which has transformed the world, for it has made modern science and technology possible.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
The piece foreshadows Saar’s penchant for transforming common items into near-mystical objects with seemingly simple flourishes that belie complex themes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The challenges in transforming Cracker Barrel are also great, restaurant-industry executives and management specialists said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Contestants were set the task of transforming a staple ingredient into a dish "fit for a duchess", although the duchess herself urged her fellow judges to “call me Meghan”.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Racing against a stopwatch, a group of women folds bedsheets as they train to join an Indian startup that offers instant home services, transforming a traditionally word-of-mouth sector and promising better pay.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
In a reactor, many of the uranium 235 nuclei split apart, transforming into radioactive isotopes such as iodine 131 and cesium 137.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
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.
