Dictionary

shapeshifter en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈʃeɪp.ʃɪf.tɚ/ (General-American)
• /ˈʃeɪpʃɪftə/ (UK)

Etymology

From shape + shifter.

Meanings

1. A person or creature capable of changing their appearance or form at will.
   • There have also been verified reports of fire-starters and ice-makers and a shapeshifter so powerful she was able to frame another Smallville citizen for a bank robbery! 2004, Devin Grayson, Smallville: City:
   • Granted, Grace is talking about actual transformation, but she's a shapeshifter. For her, growing a couple inches taller is like an alternative to wearing high heels. 2015 January 30, Dan Shive, “Comic for Friday, Jan 30, 2015”, in El Goonish Shive - EGS:NP, archived from the original on 13 Aug 2022:
   • “Oh, no! That house belongs to shapeshifters. [spits]” “Fuck.” “You're kidding me, right?” “Shapeshifters are... extremely freaky.” “They are awful, abhorrent creatures that use the most ancient of sorcery to transform into whatever murderous, all-powerful shape their wicked hearts desire. And now, they have infiltrated our street.” “I have had horrible experiences with shapeshifters in the past. I was once in a relationship with a woman for four years who then transformed into a possum. I stayed with her for six more months, but then I just had to end it.” 2024 November 11, Jake Bender & Zach Dunn, “Laszlo's Father” (1:34 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows, season 6, episode 6, spoken by Nadja of Antipaxos (Natasia Demetriou):
   • Like the teller of shapeshifter stories—who conjures a shifting world of perceptions and expectations for his or her audience that is strikingly similar to the worlds created by the shapeshifter for its victims—the cultural practice of imagination...is an inherently shifty enterprise.... 2003, Michael Bathgate, The Fox's Craft in Japanese Religion and Folklore: Shapeshifters, Transformations and Duplicities:
   • The shapeshifter Lisa Bowalk, unable to shed the guise of a black panther, had gone onto the plain as a prisoner but was not now to be found among the dead above or the Captured down below. 2000, Glen Cook, Water Sleeps:
   • “The Jem'Hadar? You fought the Dominion? Ah. The shapeshifters sent many warriors to Sto-vo-kor. I wish I could have seen it.” “No, you do not. There was no honor, just massacres.” “But in the end you were victorious.” “Starfleet is supposed to be about puzzling together the mysteries of life, not fighting wars. I don't want to be a general. I don't, I don't want to send my friends off to die. I just want to be an ensign. If it was good enough for Sito, then it's good enough for me.” 2023 October 26, Mike McMahan, “The Inner Fight” (16:32 from the start), in Star Trek: Lower Decks, season 4, episode 9, spoken by Ma'ah (Jon Curry):
2. (figuratively) A person who is inconsistent and elusive.
   • She was an alcoholic, very chageable, very deceptive. A shapeshifter. You never knew where you stood with her, […] 2023, Eleanor Catton, Birnam Wood, page 268:

Forms

Deriveds

shapeshift

Relateds

shapeshifting

Synonyms

shape-shifter

Translations (28)

pt transmorfo (creature capable of changing its appearance) · it mutaforma (creature capable of changing its appearance) · de Formwandler (creature capable of changing its appearance) · la mūtāns (creature capable of changing its appearance) · es metamórfico (creature capable of changing its appearance) · ca canviaformes (creature capable of changing its appearance) · hu alakváltó (creature capable of changing its appearance) · es cambiante (creature capable of changing its appearance) · pl zmiennokształtny (creature capable of changing its appearance) · es cambiaforma (creature capable of changing its appearance) · nn hamløypar (creature capable of changing its appearance) · es metamorfo (creature capable of changing its appearance) · sw kibadilishaumbo (creature capable of changing its appearance) · nl gedaanteverwisselaar (creature capable of changing its appearance) · la trānsfōrmāns (creature capable of changing its appearance) · la trānsfigūrāns (creature capable of changing its appearance) · uk пере́вертень (creature capable of changing its appearance) · sv hamnskiftare (creature capable of changing its appearance) · de Gestaltwandler (creature capable of changing its appearance) · fr métamorphe (creature capable of changing its appearance) · ru о́боротень (creature capable of changing its appearance) · sv hamnlöpare (creature capable of changing its appearance) · sw mgeuzi (creature capable of changing its appearance) · es mutaforma (creature capable of changing its appearance) · de Gestaltwandlerin (creature capable of changing its appearance) · fi muodonmuuttaja (creature capable of changing its appearance) · nb hamløper (creature capable of changing its appearance) · de Formwandlerin (creature capable of changing its appearance)