transmogrify

American  

[trans-mog-ruh-fahy, tranz-] / trænsˈmɒg rəˌfaɪ, trænz- /

verb (used with object)

transmogrified, transmogrifying

1. to change in appearance or form, especially strangely or grotesquely; transform.

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transmogrify British  

/ trænzˈmɒɡrɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. humorous (tr) to change or transform into a different shape, esp a grotesque or bizarre one

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Other Word Forms

• transmogrification noun

Etymology

Origin of transmogrify

1650–60; earlier also transmigrify, transmography; apparently a pseudo-Latinism with transfigure or transmigrate + -ify

Example Sentences

Evolution has similarly purloined existing features and modified them, using great thrift, for example, to transmogrify a piece of jaw into an ear or to transform a leg into a wing.

From The Wall Street Journal

He would soon transmogrify these mostly dismal experiences into art.

From The Wall Street Journal

The air around me was sour and stale, transmogrified by a mass of sweating bodies.

From Salon

Seeing Powell transmogrify from nerdy Gary to five o’clock shadow Ron and back again is both hilarious and tantalizing, while Arjona has a big-eyed innocence crossed with wily smarts that keeps everyone, including Gary, guessing.

From New York Times

According to cast member Kyle Sullivan, “There was this weird dynamic where they were taking something that exists in an adult context, like ‘Fear Factor,’ and transmogrifying it for kids.

From Los Angeles Times