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
Eric Geller, WIRED, 21 Oct. 2024
But underneath the noise, a sea change has occurred that receives far less attention.
—Whitney Eulich, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Nov. 2024
Office buildings are worth way less in the era of hybrid work, a sea change that could increase strain on property taxpayers outside the downtowns if something doesn't change.
—Kyle Stokes, Axios, 29 Oct. 2024
Recent shifts to the French animation landscape perhaps represent a return to form more than any kind of great sea change.
—Jamie Lang, Variety, 4 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sea change 
Dictionary Entries Near sea change
Cite this Entry
“Sea change.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sea%20change. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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