transfigure

American  

[trans-fig-yer, -fig-er] / trænsˈfɪg yər, -ˈfɪg ər /

verb (used with object)

transfigured, transfiguring

1. to change in outward form or appearance; transform.

   Synonyms:

   renew, transmute

2. to change so as to glorify or exalt.

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transfigure British  

/ trænsˈfɪɡə /

verb

1. to change or cause to change in appearance

2. to become or cause to become more exalted

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Other Word Forms

• transfigurement noun
• untransfigured adjective

Etymology

Origin of transfigure

1250–1300; Middle English transfiguren < Latin trānsfigūrāre to change in shape. See trans-, figure

Example Sentences

The result was, if not a religious experience, then a spiritually transfiguring one.

From Los Angeles Times

His inauguration was a ritual of devotion, an arena where the less powerful — which means practically everybody — was transfigured by his presence.

From Salon

At the instant the lunar disk slips entirely over the solar disk, the sun is abruptly transfigured into a foreign object.

From Los Angeles Times

Art transfigures life but, for every great work of art, there are casualties.

From New York Times

To transfigure a human villain into a demonic one, ostensibly the ultimate moral indictment, in practice amounts to a kind of cinematic vindication.

From Los Angeles Times