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Glite Dictionary
🐺 A form-changing being 🧑‍💼 A person who changes sides
shapeshifter

shapeshifter

10 8.8
A being that can change its body into other people or animals
  • noun
  • /ˈʃeɪpˌʃɪftər/
  • Literature
translation icon : cambiaformas
  • The shapeshifter Lazav is now the new guildmaster of the House Dimir.

OK, If the government find out that you're a shapeshifter, they're going to hunt you down and attempt to kill you or dissect you or whatever.

Examples

  • Maybe he has some shapeshifter abilities, and that is the reason why Emma didn't recognize him.

    Blog text (27)

  • A shapeshifter who could change form... with the power of his magical fish hook.

    Moana (2016)

  • Come to that, I cared more about the shapeshifter in "Monster Movie."

    Blog text (21)

  • Each installment features a different love story in a world filled with vampires, djinn, fae, dragons, and other various shapeshifters.

    Blog text (34)

  • I've spoken about shapeshifters—and werewolves specifically—on numerous convention panels.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The shapeshifter transformed into a wolf under the full moon.

  • In the story, the shapeshifter could change appearance at will, confusing everyone.

  • The village believed in a shapeshifter that could take the form of any animal.

Synonyms

chameleon
vsshapeshifter
18 6.6

A person who changes how they act or what they believe to fit in with different people

involves physical transformation rather than merely adjusting behavior or opinions
polymorph
vsshapeshifter
  • Specialized
1 9.4

A thing that can have different physical forms, like some insects or minerals

is a creature that changes deliberately rather than existing in passive forms
omniform
vsshapeshifter
  • Literature
9.9

A creature that can change into any shape

can change form at will but not said to become every form

How Changeable

shapeshifter
  • Literature
10 8.8
evolver
6.6
changer
64 4.4

Surface Forms

shapeshifter singular
shapeshifters plural

Morphology

shapeshifter = shapeshift (transparent) = shape + shift + er

Formed from the verb 'shapeshift' + '-er'; the literal meaning 'one who changes shape' follows directly from the components.

Etymology

Shapeshifter is a simple compound of shape ('form') and shift ('to change'), so it literally means someone who can 'change form'. That's why a shapeshifter is a creature that can become any animal or appearance.