Definition of: change

(chānj) v. changed, chang·ing v.t.
1. To make different; alter; transmute.
2. To exchange; interchange: to change places.
3. To give or cause another to give the equivalent of, as money, in smaller units or foreign currency.
4. To put other garments, coverings, etc., on: to change the bed.
—v.i.
5. To become different; vary.
6. To enter upon a new phase: the moon has changed.
7. To make a change or exchange.
8. To transfer from one train to another.
9. To put on other garments.
—to change color To blush or turn pale.
—to change front
1. In a military sense, to face a different way; alter the direction of a line of attack.
2. To adopt a new line of argument.
3. To alter one's attitude or principles.
—to change hands To pass from one possessor to another.
—noun
1. The act or fact of changing; alteration; substitution or something used in substitution.
2. A place for general transaction of business; an exchange.
3. The money returned to a purchaser who has given a bill or coin of greater value than his purchase.
4. Money of smaller denomination given in exchange for larger; small coins collectively.
5. A passage from one phase to another: the change of the moon.
6. Music a A modulation or variation of key. b Any order, other than that of the diatonic scale, in which a peal of bells is struck: usually in the plural.
7. Obs. Want of constancy; caprice.
8. Religious conversion.
—to ring the changes
1. To operate a chime of bells so as to produce a variety of tuneful combinations.
2. To repeat something with every possible variation of language and illustration. [<OF changer <LL cambiare exchange]
—chang′er noun Synonyms (verb): alter, commute, convert, exchange, metamorphose, modify, qualify, shift, substitute, transfigure, transform, transmute, turn, vary, veer. To change is to make a thing other than it has been; to exchange, to put or take something else in its place; to alter is ordinarily to change partially. To exchange is often to transfer ownership; as, to exchange city for country property. Change is often used in the sense of exchange; as, to change horses. To transmute is to change the qualities while the substance remains the same; as, to transmute baser metals into gold. To transform is to change form or appearance, with or without deeper and more essential change. Transfigure is, as in its Scriptural use, to change in an exalted and glorious spiritual way. To metamorphose is to make some remarkable change, as of a caterpillar into a butterfly, or of the crystalline structure of rocks, hence called “metamorphic rocks.” To vary is to change from time to time, often capriciously. To commute is to put something easier, lighter, milder, etc., in place of that which is commuted; as, to commute daily fares on a railway to a monthy payment. To convert is primarily to turn about, and signifies to change in form, character, use, etc.; iron is converted into steel, joy into grief, etc. Turn is a popular word for change in any sense short of the meaning of exchange, being often equivalent to alter, convert, transform, transmute, etc. We modify a statement by some limitation, qualify it by some addition. See CONVEY. Antonyms: abide, bide, continue, endure, hold, keep, persist, remain, retain, stay. Synonyms (noun): alteration, conversion, diversity, innovation, mutation, novelty, regeneration, renewal, renewing, revolution, transformation, transition, transmutation, variation, variety, vicissitude. Mutation is a more formal word for change, often suggesting repeated or continual change; as, the mutations of fortune. Revolution is specifically and most commonly a change of government. Variation is a partial change in form, qualities, position, or action; as, the variation of the magnetic needle or of the pulse. Vicissitude is sharp, sudden, or violent change; as, the vicissitudes of politics. Transition is change by passing from one place or state to another, especially in a natural, regular, or orderly way; as, the transition from spring to summer. An innovation is a change that breaks in upon an established order or custom. See MOTION. Antonyms: constancy, continuance, firmness, fixedness, fixity, identity, invariability, permanence, persistence, steadiness, unchangeableness, uniformity.