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Showing results for sea change. Search instead for Semantic+Change.
Synonyms

sea change

American  

noun

  1. a striking change, as in appearance, often for the better.

  2. any major transformation or alteration.

  3. a transformation brought about by the sea.


sea change British  

noun

  1. a seemingly magical change, as brought about by the action of the sea

"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

Etymology

Origin of sea change

First recorded in 1600–10

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.

For Matthew Frank, author of The Ankler's Crowd Pleaser newsletter, the YouTube-to-big screen pipeline "feels like a sea change".

From BBC • May 29, 2026

Nonetheless, some U.S. veterans are finding hope in the widespread opposition to the war, which marks a sea change from previous wars.

From Salon • May 25, 2026

“This is definitely a sea change from previous transitions,” said Derek Tang, co-founder of LH Meyer/Monetary Policy Analytics, told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026

Towering Inference: The undisputed AI king is confronting a sea change in computing as “inference” emerges as a more significant demand center than training AI models.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026

By honoring both the invention of an essential instrument for large-scale research and the creation of a laboratory model to put it to use, the Nobel committee validated a sea change in science.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

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