physical change

American  

[fiz-i-kuhl cheynj] / ˈfɪz ɪ kəl ˈtʃeɪndʒ /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a usually reversible change in the physical properties of a substance, as size or shape.

   Freezing a liquid is a physical change.

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Usage

What is a physical change? A physical change is a change to the physical—as opposed to chemical—properties of a substance. They are usually reversible. The physical properties of a substance include such characteristics as shape (volume and size), color, texture, flexibility, density, and mass. Physical changes are not to be confused with chemical changes, which form whole new substances.

Etymology

Origin of physical change

First recorded in 1750–60

Compare meaning

How does physical-change compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• physical change vs. chemical change

Example Sentences

Decades of science since those days of placebo panic suggest that beliefs can manifest physical change; after all, the mind and body are connected.

From Slate • Jan. 30, 2026

Discomfort with one’s body was increasingly reframed by clinicians and activists as a psychological flaw, and the desire for physical change treated with suspicion, as if it betrayed a lack of self-acceptance.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

"Dads don't go through the physical change, but they do go through all the emotions of their partner giving birth and feeling helpless."

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2024

“This study provides important evidence that a physical change can be observed in the days before an earthquake,” Dan Schneider, QuakeFinder’s director of research and development, said in a written statement.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 13, 2022

“You a Nihilist, Pasha!” she whispered, staring at him, as though a great physical change had suddenly come over him.

From The White Terror and The Red A novel of revolutionary Russia by Cahan, Abraham