transmogrify

/trænsˈmɑgrəˌfɑɪ/

Other forms: transmogrified; transmogrifying; transmogrifies

You've seen something transmogrify, or transform completely, if you've ever watched the process of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly.

Use the verb transmogrify when a person or thing changes in a way that surprises you. A fairy tale frog transmogrifies into a prince in one well-known story, and a tomboy might be said to transmogrify when she puts on a frilly dress to be a flower girl in a wedding. The origin of transmogrify isn't clear, although one theory is that it was a mistake made long ago, when someone meant to say transmigrate, or "pass into another body after death."

Definitions of transmogrify

1. verb

   change completely the nature or appearance of
   synonyms: metamorphose, transfigure

   type of:

   change by reversal, reverse, turn

   change to the contrary