sea change
noun
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In William Shakespeare's The Tempest, a sea change is a change brought about by the sea, as illustrated by the words of the sprite Ariel to Ferdinand, said to make the prince believe that his father has perished in a shipwreck: "Full fathom five thy father lies...; / Nothing of him that doth fade / But doth suffer a sea-change / into something rich and strange." This meaning of sea change is the original one, but it's now archaic. Long after sea change had gained its figurative meaning—that of any marked or permanent transformation—writers nonetheless continued to allude to Shakespeare's literal one; Charles Dickens, Henry David Thoreau, and P.G. Wodehouse all used the term as an object of the verb suffer, but now a sea change is just as likely to be undergone or experienced.
Examples of sea change in a Sentence
Michelle Bruton, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
So the notion that similar capabilities as America’s most powerful AI models can be achieved for such a small fraction of the cost – and on less capable chips – represents a sea change in the industry’s understanding of how much investment is needed in AI.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2025
Kyiv knew the Trump team’s rhetoric on the campaign trail spelt a likely sea change for Ukraine, but held out hope, with European allies, that Trump would seek to avoid an Kabul Airport Moment of collapse in security on the continent, and keep Russia back.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 19 Feb. 2025
Kyiv knew the Trump team’s rhetoric on the campaign trail spelt a likely sea change for Ukraine, but held out hope, with European allies, that Trump would seek to avoid a Kabul Airport Moment of collapse in security on the continent, and keep Russia back.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sea change
Cite this Entry
“Sea change.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sea%20change. Accessed 19 Mar. 2025.
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