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transform

[verb trans-fawrm; noun trans-fawrm]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to change in form, appearance, or structure; metamorphose.
  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)
  1. to undergo a change in form, appearance, or character; become transformed.
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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(def 5).
  5. Linguistics. a structure derived by a transformation.
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Origin of transform

1300–50; Middle English transformen < Latin trānsfōrmāre to change in shape. See trans-, form
Related formstrans·form·a·ble, adjectivetrans·form·a·tive, adjectivein·ter·trans·form·a·ble, adjectivenon·trans·form·ing, adjectivere·trans·form, verb (used with object)self-trans·formed, adjectiveun·trans·form·a·ble, adjectiveun·trans·form·a·tive, adjectiveun·trans·formed, adjectiveun·trans·form·ing, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for transform on Thesaurus.com
1. transfigure. T ransform , convert mean to change one thing into another. T ransform suggests changing from one form, appearance, structure, or type to another: to transform soybeans into oil and meal by pressure. C onvert suggests so changing the characteristics as to change the use or purpose: to convert a barn into a house.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for transforming

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Finally they asked him to show them some of his transforming arts.

  • Many were their cares, too, in transforming the old pavilion into a farm.

    Fruitfulness

    Emile Zola

  • It is a question of nothing less than of transforming him into furnished lodgings.

  • The dirty cot, the dirty cell, the dirty floor, a point of view was transforming.

    The Paliser case

    Edgar Saltus

  • The Smith was compelled to try his hand at transforming the seigneur.

    Russian Fairy Tales

    W. R. S. Ralston

British Dictionary definitions for transforming

transform

verb (trænsˈfɔːm)
  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 (ˈtrænsˌfɔːm)
  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
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Derived Formstransformable, adjectivetransformative, adjective

Word Origin

C14: from Latin transformāre, from trans- + formāre to form
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

Word Origin and History for transforming

transform

v.

mid-14c., from Old French transformer, from Latin transformare "change the shape or form of," from trans- "across" (see trans-) + formare "to form" (see form (v.)). Related: Transformed; transforming.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper