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
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
Many on Wall Street echoed that optimism, citing the sea change in the U.S. government’s regulatory approach to crypto that is more supportive of the industry and that is likely to allow Coinbase to focus more on future growth and innovation and less on fighting regulatory battles.
—Tanaya MacHeel, CNBC, 14 Feb. 2025
One of McDonough’s targets is for USL to become the first American sporting competition to adopt promotion and relegation, or ‘pro-rel’, a sea change in line with global football as a whole.
—Phil Hay, The Athletic, 14 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 12 Mar. 2025.
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