transform
Americanverb (used with object)
-
transforms,
present (3rd person singular)
-
transformed,
past participle, past
-
transforming
present participle
-
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)
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transforms,
present (3rd person singular)
-
transformed,
past participle, past
-
transforming
present participle
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:
"For more than 25 years, he brought a gravitas and profundity to the role, earning fans across the globe and helping to transform Super Hero storytelling forever," Marvel Studios said Thursday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
The finding challenges long-standing assumptions about magma and raises an intriguing possibility: oxygen released from Earth's interior may have helped transform the planet's atmosphere billions of years ago.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
Dermer handpicked Rispoli because of what he had seen him do in sketch comedy — an ability to physically transform into a new character with ease.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
Investors have at times been hesitant to support the spending spree that Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has undertaken to transform Meta into an AI company, repeatedly pushing him to see near-term returns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
Neither of them knew it yet, but it was the start of a partnership that would transform their lives—and the future of American code breaking.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
But each fall, he transforms into the Captain — the undead host of festivities at the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, a haunted attraction held in Long Beach during the Halloween season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
Plus, China transforms its most controversial region into a commercial hub, and how flights are dodging global conflicts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
According to the team, this approach delivers performance that surpasses existing types of spectrometers in several key areas, including designs based on light dispersion, Fourier transforms, and computational reconstruction.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
Automation enables "inquiries that were not previously possible; it transforms the conditions of research."
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
It happens every year, Las Casitas transforms on Nochebuena.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
By treating his Starfleet commander as if he were a Shakespearean protagonist, Stewart transformed a franchise at a crossroads into a fresh, thoughtful look at human possibility.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
The home was originally built in the 1950s, but Sandefer Homes transformed the property not long before Johnson purchased it, according to Robb Report.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
McDonagh, 56, a London native with Irish blood, transformed himself from hotshot playwright to elite filmmaker by focusing exclusively on his own screenplays.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
Almost a century ago, County Down-born inventor Harry Ferguson transformed the farming industry when he developed the linkage system still used in tractors today.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
Almost imperceptibly, the supposedly supernatural is transformed into the natural.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
A 2025 profile on Bumper by local publication Edible Monterey Bay credits him with transforming “an unpopular heat-and-serve lunch program into a from-scratch operation” that featured locally grown produce.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
Jones and Hogarth, an actor, bought 163-year-old Capel Salem on the Llŷn Peninsula in 2022 and have been transforming it into their dream home, alongside a pottery studio and community space.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
Private clubs nationwide are transforming their customer proposition from old-money exclusivity into easygoing family appeal, Jessica Flint reports for The Wall Street Journal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
In some ways, Las Vegas is a funny fit for the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, who’s been transforming pain into music since her 1992 debut, “What’s the 411?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
I look down, fascinated, as my ensemble slowly comes to life, first with a soft golden light but gradually transforming to the orange-red of burning coal.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
