Transform

How to spell transform

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce transform

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does transform mean?

1. verbTo change something completely in form, appearance, or character.

Transform in a sentence

• A fresh coat of paint can transform a tired old kitchen.

• The new manager hoped to transform the failing department.

Where does transform come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This verb traces back to the Latin transformare, which was built from the prefix trans-, meaning 'across' or 'beyond', joined to forma, meaning 'shape' or 'form'. The literal sense was therefore 'to change the shape of something', to carry it across from one form into another. English took the word in during the late fourteenth century, borrowing it through Old French transformer while the Latin spelling remained clearly visible. The same forma root sits inside a whole family of everyday relatives such as 'reform', 'inform', 'deform', and 'uniform', all sharing the idea of shape. Because the word is assembled so neatly from familiar parts, its spelling rarely traps adults; the only thing to watch is keeping the single 's' in 'trans' rather than slipping toward an extra letter.

How the word is built

• trans- (across, beyond)
• form (shape)