transfigure

[ trans-fig-yeror, especially British, -fig-er ]

verb (used with object)

, trans·fig·ured, trans·fig·ur·ing.

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

   Synonyms: renew, transmute

2. to change so as to glorify or exalt.

transfigure

/ trænsˈfɪɡə /

verb

1. to change or cause to change in appearance
2. to become or cause to become more exalted

Derived Forms

• transˈfigurement, noun

Other Words From

• trans·figure·ment noun
• untrans·figured adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of transfigure¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of transfigure¹

C13: from Latin transfigūrāre , from trans- + figūra appearance

Example Sentences

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

In the musical “Parade,” it is not enough that Leo Frank is lynched; to make him fully human he must be transfigured by love.

From New York Times

I remember the quietness of that afternoon and my fascination with the images on the report, which seemed to transfigure the space around me.

From New York Times