sea change

noun

a profound transformation

• Hypernyms: ↑transformation, ↑transmutation, ↑shift

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noun

1. : a change wrought by the sea

of his bones are coral made, those are pearls that were his eyes; nothing of him that doth fade but doth suffer a sea change — Shakespeare

2. : a marked transformation (as to something richer or finer)

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1. a striking change, as in appearance, often for the better.

2. any major transformation or alteration.

3. a transformation brought about by the sea.

[1600-10]

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sea change noun (Shakespeare)

1. A change effected by the sea

2. A complete transformation

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Main Entry: ↑sea

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sea change UK US noun [singular]

a very big or important change

Thesaurus: changes_synonym turning points and important stages_synonym

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sea change,

1. a change brought about by the sea: »

Nothing of him that doth fade but doth suffer a sea change into something rich and strange (Shakespeare).

2. Figurative. any radical or complete change; transformation: »

In its transition to the screen…Shaw's novel…has undergone quite a sea change (New Yorker).

sea-change «SEE _CHAYNJ», intransitive verb, -changed, -chang|ing.

to undergo a sea change; be completely transformed: »

... living bones that had sea-changed into pearls and coral (Hannah Arendt).

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n. a profound or notable transformation

Origin:

from Shakespeare's Tempest (i. ii. 403)

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noun, pl ⋯ changes [count]

: a big and sudden change

— usually singular

There's been a sea change in public opinion.

Her attitude has undergone a sea change [=her attitude has changed completely] in recent months.

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ˈsea change [sea change sea changes] noun usually singular

a strong and noticeable change in a situation

•

It was one of those momentous events that cause a sea change in public attitudes.

 

Word Origin:

from Shakespeare's Tempest (i. ii. 403).