change

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

Alteration

Nouns

1. change, alteration, mutation, permutation, variation, modification, modulation, innovation, metastasis; transition; menopause; deviation, flux, turn; shift; diversion, break; reform, revision, revolution; change for the better, improvement, innovation, breath of fresh air; change for the worse, degeneration, deterioration; radicalism, revisionism; New Deal, New Frontier, etc.; reorganization, shake-up, perestroika; vicissitude; watershed, groundswell. Informal, megatrend, new take. See changeableness.

2. transformation, transfiguration; makeover; evolution, metamorphosis; transmutation; transubstantiation; metagenesis, transanimation, transmigration, metempsychosis; metabolism, catabolism; alternative. Informal, quantum leap, flip-flop.

3. (change from one type to another) conversion; technical adjustment or correction; alchemy; revolution, sea change, reversal; transposition; new wine in old bottles; sex change or reassignment; transference, transfer; changeableness, tergiversation. See difference, interchange.

4. (something causing or undergoing change) progressive, reformer, revisionist, socialist, communist, revolutionary, radical; innovator, transformer, modifier; leaven, yeast; convert.

Verbs

1. change, alter, vary, wax and wane; temper, modulate, tamper with; turn, shift, veer, tack, swerve; [do an] about-face; change one's tune, whistle or sing a different tune, dance to another tune, reconsider, work a change, modify. Informal, tweak, revamp, flip-flop.

2. transform, translate, transfigure, transmute, transume, make over; metamorphose, ring the changes; metabolize; convert, innovate, revolutionize, introduce new blood, shuffle the cards; influence, turn the scale or the tide; shift the scene, turn over a new leaf; recast, remodel, revamp; reverse, overturn, upset; transpose; reform, reorganize; come round; change horses in midstream; take a turn for the better or worse.

3. be changed, be converted (into), turn into, become, evolve, come to; grow, mature, mellow, ripen; resolve into; inflect; assume the form, etc. of; improve, better; worsen.

Adjectives

1. changed, altered; newfangled, novel (See newness); changeable, variable; transitional, divergent; modifiable.

2. progressive, innovative; metabolic, catabolic, anabolic; catalytic.

3. reform, revisionary, revolutionary, radical, unconservative, leftish, communist[ic], socialist[ic], pink[ish], red. Slang, commie, pinko.

Phrases — the leopard does not change his spots; new brooms sweep clean.

Quotations — For the times they are a-changin' (Bob Dylan), Nothing is permanent but change (Heraclitus), The more things change, the more they remain the same (Alphonse Karr), Variety's the very spice of life (William Cowper), The wind of change is blowing through this continent (Harold Macmillan), And now for something completely different (Monty Python), The old order changeth, yielding place to the new (Lord Tennyson).

Antonyms, See stability, permanence, reversion.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [The act or fact of altering]

Syn. alteration, variation, vicissitude, substitution, swerving, deviation, diversion, shuffling, difference, reconstruction, aberration, evolution, restyling, innovation, move, interchange, trade, switch, fluctuation, wavering, modulation, alternating, exchange, mutation, transformation, transmutation, modification, transition, metamorphosis, transfiguration, reshaping, adoption, transference, reworking, transmogrification, metamorphism, improvisation, revolution, conversion, regeneration, shifting, warping, remodeling, renovation, veering, transubstantiation, shift, reformation, revision, rearrangement, enlargement, renewal, removal, disguising, reversal, about-face, tampering, qualification, turning, metathesis, inflection, vacillation, resolution, metastasis, reorganization; see also variety 1 .

Ant. constancy*, consistency, permanence.

2. [An alteration]

Syn. modification, correction, remodeling, switch, reformation, reconstruction, shift, difference, reform, conversion, changeover, transformation, tempering, revolution, rearrangement, adjustment, readjustment, reorganization, reshaping, renovation, realignment, redirection, reprogramming, variation, addition, refinement, advance, modulation, development, diversification, turn, turnover, enlargement, revision, qualification, distortion, compression, contraction, telescoping, widening, narrowing, lengthening, flattening, shortening, fitting, setting, adjusting, rounding, getting out of round, ovalization, squaring, getting out of whack*, ups and downs*; see also sense 1.

3. [Substitution]

Syn. switch, replacement, swap; see exchange 3 .

4. [Variety]

Syn. diversity, novelty, variance; see difference 1 , variety 1 .

5. [Small coins]

Syn. pocket money, spending money, pin money, silver, small change, (small) coins, pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, half dollars, chicken feed*; see also money 1 .

v.

1. [To make different]

Syn. vary, alter, modify, transform, convert, diversify, turn, modulate, transmute, transfigure, redo, metamorphose, disguise, restyle, revolutionize, reorganize, make over, do over, remake, recondition, remodel, reconvert, refashion, tailor, reform, renew, renovate, recast, revamp, remold, modernize, reconstruct, moderate, temper, adjust, adapt, accommodate, readjust, fine-tune, naturalize, transpose, invert, switch around, reverse, turn upside down, revise, correct, amend, edit, tamper with, make innovations, innovate, render different, translate, mutate, transmogrify, denature, transubstantiate, reshape, inflect, regenerate, improve, worsen, reduce, commute, increase, diminish, intensify, shape, shift, transfer, give a color to, do something about, bring up to date.

Ant. maintain, preserve, set, fix.

2. [To put in place of another]

Syn. exchange, replace, substitute, alternate, switch, interchange, rotate, displace, supplant, transpose, trade, swap*; see also exchange 1 , replace 1 , substitute 2 .

3. [To change clothing]

Syn. undress, disrobe, dress, make one's toilet; see dress 1 .

4. [To become different]

Syn. alter, vary, fluctuate, vacillate, modify, metamorphose, evolve, be converted, turn into, turn from, resolve into, grow, ripen, mellow, mature, develop, be transformed, reform, moderate, adapt, adjust, mutate, diverge, deviate, shift, veer, swerve, tack, deflect, warp, merge into, shade, cloud, break, graduate, grade, come around, take a New turn, reverse oneself, do an about-face*, flip-flop*, blow hot and cold*; see also sense 1, become 1 .

Syn.- change denotes making or becoming distinctly different and implies either a radical transmutation of character or replacement with something else [ success changed her; I'll change my shoes ] ; alter implies a more partial change, as in appearance, so that the identity is preserved [ to alter a garment ] ; vary suggests irregular or intermittent change [ to vary one's reading ] ; modify implies minor change, often so as to limit or moderate [ to modify the language of a report ] ; transform implies a change in form and now, usually, in nature or function [ to transform matter into energy ] ; convert suggests more strongly change to suit a New function [ to convert a barn into a house ]

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. alteration modification, transformation, variation, conversion, metamorphosis, shift, remodeling, reformation, adaption, mutation, *about-face, *chameleon, transmutation, refinement, flux, vicissitude. ''What people fear most.''—Fyodor Dostoyevski. ''The unknown.''—Eleanor Roosevelt. ''Truths being in and out of favor.''— Robert Frost.

2. something different novelty, variation, switch, change of pace.

II

v.

1. alter modify, transform, vary, convert, metamorphose, shift, remodel, reinvent, reform, adapt, mutate, transmogrify, *do an about-face.

2. substitute transfer, exchange, switch, alternate, swap, trade, replace, interchange.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb 1. To make or become different: alter, modify, mutate, turn, vary. See CHANGE. 2. To give up in return for something else: commute, exchange, interchange, shift, substitute, switch, trade. Informal: swap. See CHANGE, SUBSTITUTE. 3. To leave or discard for another: shift, switch. See CHANGE, SUBSTITUTE. II noun 1. The process or result of making or becoming different: alteration, modification, mutation, permutation, variation. See CHANGE. 2. The act of exchanging or substituting: commutation, exchange, interchange, shift, substitution, switch, trade, transposition. Informal: swap. See CHANGE, SUBSTITUTE. 3. The process or result of changing from one appearance, state, or phase to another: changeover, conversion, metamorphosis, mutation, shift, transfiguration, transformation, translation, transmogrification, transmutation, transubstantiation. See CHANGE. 4. The process or an instance of passing from one form, state, or stage to another: passage, shift, transit, transition. See CHANGE.