transform

American  

[trans-fawrm, trans-fawrm] / trænsˈfɔrm, ˈtræns fɔrm /

verb (used with object)

• transforms,
  present (3rd person singular)
• transformed,
  past participle,  past
• transforming
  present participle

1. 

   to change in form, appearance, or structure; metamorphose.

   Synonyms:

   transfigure

2. to change in condition, nature, or character; convert.

3. to change into another substance; transmute.

4. Electricity.

   1. to increase or decrease (the voltage and current characteristics of an alternating-current circuit), as by means of a transformer.

   2. to decrease (the voltage and current characteristics of a direct-current circuit), as by means of a transformer.

5. Mathematics. to change the form of (a figure, expression, etc.) without in general changing the value.

6. Physics. to change into another form of energy.

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verb (used without object)

• transforms,
  present (3rd person singular)
• transformed,
  past participle,  past
• transforming
  present participle

1. to undergo a change in form, appearance, or character; become transformed.

noun

1. Mathematics.

   1. a mathematical quantity obtained from a given quantity by an algebraic, geometric, or functional transformation.

   2. the transformation itself.

2. the result of a transformation.

3. a transformation.

4. Logic. transformation.

5. Linguistics. a structure derived by a transformation.

transform British  

verb

1. to alter or be altered radically in form, function, etc

2. (tr) to convert (one form of energy) to another form

3. (tr) maths to change the form of (an equation, expression, etc) by a mathematical transformation

4. (tr) to increase or decrease (an alternating current or voltage) using a transformer

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noun

1. maths the result of a mathematical transformation, esp (of a matrix or an element of a group) another related to the given one by B = X ^–1 AX for some appropriate X

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

• retransform
  verb (used with object)
• intertransformable
  adjective
• nontransforming
  adjective
• self-transformed
  adjective
• transformable
  adjective
• transformative
  adjective
• untransformable
  adjective
• untransformed
  adjective
• untransforming
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• transforming
  present
• transformed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• transform
  simple
• transforms
  simple
• have transformed
  perfect
• has transformed
  perfect
• am transforming
  progressive
• are transforming
  progressive
• is transforming
  progressive
• have been transforming
  perfect progressive
• has been transforming
  perfect progressive

Past

• transformed
  simple
• had transformed
  perfect
• was transforming
  progressive
• were transforming
  progressive
• had been transforming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will transform
  simple
• will have transformed
  perfect
• will be transforming
  progressive
• will have been transforming
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

transform transforms transformed transforming

In the age of busyness, it’s easy to worry that even a moment wasted could transform into a pile of stress, and money lost.

From Slate ● Sep. 14, 2026

The island wants to shed its reputation as a hot spot for British bachelor parties and package-holidayers and transform into a luxury destination for high-rolling tourists like Americans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

Myles Garrett being placed on injured reserve threatens to transform what was expected to be a ferocious Rams defense into something much more tame.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

Quantum computers could eventually transform areas such as drug discovery, energy technology, cryptography, artificial intelligence, and logistics.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

I expect him to leave, or perhaps transform into one of the nurses again, but instead he pulls up a chair and sits down.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

At its best, butterfly watching transforms how Ms. Korsgaard sees everything else.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Cullen often spoke about how his voice for the leader — who transforms into a truck — was inspired by his older brother, Larry, a Marine who had served in Vietnam.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

Each fall, ArtPrize — one of the world’s largest international art competitions — transforms the entire downtown into an open-air gallery.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

Their approach transforms natural killer cells, a type of immune cell known for rapidly attacking abnormal cells, into a specialized tissue resident form that can move into solid tumors and destroy cancer cells.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026

The tiger-shadow transforms into a man, taller and thicker than the boy.

From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith

"That technique gives us the density of CO2, and using a state equation we can transform that density into pressure, and pressure can be transformed into depth," Gavrilenko said.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

Since 2021, Woolston Eyes has been transformed from a former dredging site into a network of freshwater pools and reedbeds.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

The emergence of industrial crushing in the 1910s transformed the crop.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026

Our favorite games unfolded beneath the dining table; at times, we transformed it into a bus, traveling to unfamiliar places, as we took turns playing different roles: the driver, the passenger, and the ticket officer.

From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026

The skin of her bare arms and face glowed with health and vitality, but her skin was not the only thing transformed.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

And despite the bloodshed, it was a gamble that paid off, reaping countless benefits for the isolated and impoverished country, transforming both its economic and military fortunes.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

When considering the cost of transforming cancer care Mitchell said we need to look at both the "human benefit of saving almost 6,000 lives" but also "the economic benefit".

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Speaking alongside interim President Delcy Rodriguez, he argued that ramping up energy production was "the catalyst for transforming Venezuela" and for "improving the life conditions of Americans, the hemisphere and everyone in the world."

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

This video offers an inside look at how front-line cash is transforming the city’s impoverished economy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

But Rita Skeeter had gone even further than transforming his “er’s” into long, sickly sentences: She had interviewed other people about him too.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

Related Words

• alter
• convert
• mold
• mutate
• reconstruct
• remodel
• revamp
• revolutionize
• transfer
• translate