metamorphosis
9
7.4
- noun
- /ˌmɛtəˈmɔrfəsɪs/
- Specialized
:
metamorfosis
- The caterpillar undergoes a stunning metamorphosis to become a butterfly.
- undergo metamorphosis
- Metamorphosis occurs
- delay metamorphosis
Soon the metamorphosis is complete and he can fertilize the females eggs ensuring that procreation assists.
- Soon the metamorphosis is complete and he can fertilize the females eggs ensuring that procreation assists.
Examples
-
Frogs experience a remarkable metamorphosis as they transform from tadpoles into adults.
-
At that point, the metamorphosis began.
Academic text (2012) -
The age or size at metamorphosis is unknown.
Academic text (1992) -
Juvenile growth rates were determined for the first four days after metamorphosis.
Academic text (1998) -
But then something happens, and they go through this whole physical and sociological metamorphosis.
-
I felt like an insect about to hatch, confused and vulnerable after a painful metamorphosis.
Fiction book (1995) -
In the poem, I see the young body of her daughter—a body in metamorphosis.
Fiction book (1999) -
The larva then underwent a metamorphosis, growing body segments, spines on the head shield, and a head fringe below.
Academic text (1992) -
During its metamorphosis, the larva changes significantly, developing wings and legs.
Synonyms
241
3.7
A complete change in form or appearance, for example a caterpillar becoming a butterfly
3
8.6
A change of something into a different form
A type of insect life cycle with separate larva, pupa and adult stages
An insect life cycle with four stages: egg, larva, pupa, adult
How Dramatic
Surface Forms
Morphology
metamorphosis = morphosis (opaque) = meta + morph + osis
Although the prefix suggests change, the base word 'morphosis' is rare and the biological sense is a learned technical term rather than a readily inferable everyday formation.
Etymology
The word metamorphosis comes from Greek parts meta- ('change') and morphē ('form' or 'shape'), so it means a 'change of form'. That's why we use it for animals that change from a larva or tadpole into a very different adult, like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly.