metamorphose
/ˌmɛtəˈmɔːˌfəʊz/
metamorphose means of a moth or insect, to undergo metamorphosis. It carries an Arena rating of 1863, earned across 23 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, metamorphose ranks #249 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #836 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #1,927 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #2,075 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
metamorphose is pronounced /ˌmɛtəˈmɔːˌfəʊz/.
Why “metamorphose” is a great word
To undergo a complete and fundamental change in form, structure, or substance, as by natural development or as if by magic. From French métamorphoser (16th century), from métamorphose, from Latin metamorphōsis, from Greek metamorphōsis, from meta ('change') + morphē ('form'); first attested in English in the 1570s. Unlike 'modify,' which implies a partial, surface-level adjustment, or 'transfigure,' which suggests an elevation into a glorified state, to metamorphose is neutral, speaking only to the totality of the transformation. It is the grub dissolving within its chrysalis to reconstitute as a winged imago; the patient pressure of geology turning limestone into marble; the ordinary moment that warps, by some forgotten pivot, into the memory that defines a life. It is the quiet, relentless fact that to become is often to cease being what one was.
Etymology
From French métamorphoser, from Old French metamorphose, from Latin metamorphōsis; see metamorphosis.
verb
- Of a moth or insect, to undergo metamorphosis.
- To undergo some transformation.
- To transform (something) so that it has a completely different appearance.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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