To undergo or bring about a marked change in form or character.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- metamorphose into
- metamorphose a form
On the page
The larva metamorphosed into its adult form under the observed conditions.
The familiar room metamorphosed into a formal meeting space when the furniture was rearranged.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- metamorphose
- Past tense
- metamorphosed
- Past participle
- metamorphosed
- Present participle
- metamorphosing
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- metamorphose
- Present continuous
- am/is/are metamorphosing
- Present perfect
- have/has metamorphosed
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been metamorphosing
- Past
- metamorphosed
- Past continuous
- was/were metamorphosing
- Past perfect
- had metamorphosed
- Past perfect continuous
- had been metamorphosing
- Future
- will metamorphose
- Future continuous
- will be metamorphosing
- Future perfect
- will have metamorphosed
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been metamorphosing
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: metamorphose; metamorphoses; metamorphosed; metamorphosed; metamorphosing Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: narrative transformation, conception and possibility, memory representation, anticipatory detail. Disciplines: literary writing, advanced general English, narrative analysis. Commonness: uncommon. Third-person singular: metamorphoses.
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