metamorphic

American  

[met-uh-mawr-fik] / ˌmɛt əˈmɔr fɪk /

adjective

1. pertaining to or characterized by change of form, or metamorphosis.

2. Geology. pertaining to or exhibiting structural change or metamorphism.

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metamorphic British  

/ ˌmɛtəˈmɔːfɪk /

adjective

1. relating to or resulting from metamorphosis or metamorphism

2. (of rocks) altered considerably from their original structure and mineralogy by pressure and heat Compare igneous sedimentary

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metamorphic Scientific  

/ mĕt′ə-môr′fĭk /

1. Zoology Relating to metamorphosis.

2. Geology Relating to rocks that have undergone metamorphism. Metamorphic rocks are formed when igneous, sedimentary, or other metamorphic rocks undergo a physical change due to extreme heat and pressure. These changes often produce folded layers or banding in the rocks, and they can also cause pockets of precious minerals to form. The folds and banding can be produced by incomplete segregation of minerals during recrystallization, or they can be inherited from preexisting beds in sedimentary rocks or preexisting layers in igneous rocks. The precious minerals can form as the result of recrystallization when the rocks undergoing metamorphism are subjected to changes in pressure and temperature.

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Other Word Forms

• nonmetamorphic
  adjective
• premetamorphic
  adjective
• unmetamorphic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of metamorphic

First recorded in 1810–20; meta- + -morphic

Explanation

Metamorphic things have experienced some kind of transformation or change. A metamorphic rock, for example, started out as a different kind of rock and was transformed with heat or pressure. Metamorphosis is a dramatic change, a transformation from one state to a completely different one. The adjective metamorphic describes something related to this kind of change. Every child should get the chance to watch the metamorphic process of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. You might have a metamorphic summer, one in which you get your braces off and grow seven inches taller. In geology, metamorphic describes a specific process that some rocks undergo when heat and pressure changes them. The Greek metamorphoun, "to transform," is from meta, "change," and morphe, "form."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

metamorphic

The company is now training modern exploration techniques on outcroppings of a 1.8-billion-year-old type of metamorphic rock called Pinto gneiss.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026

A team co-led by Southwest Research Institute found evidence for hydrothermal or metamorphic activity within the icy dwarf planets Eris and Makemake, located in the Kuiper Belt.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 15, 2024

But which sedimentary rock is that metamorphic rock derived from, hmm?

From Slate ● Jan. 12, 2024

Ehlmann and her team previously identified metamorphic rocks on Mars that she thinks could have formed when hot groundwater circulated through rocks buried underground, a relatively low-temperature, low-pressure process.

From National Geographic ● Oct. 12, 2023

With the season opener a week away, the pressure now intensified on everyone else, on Brian Chavez with his metamorphic ruthlessness and Ivory Christian with his love-hate ambivalence and Jerrod McDougal with his religious zeal.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger