shape-shifter
Being altering appearance
A shape-shifter is a being that can transform its physical form into something else—another creature, another person, an object.
The concept appears across mythology and fantasy: werewolves, selkies, and trickster gods are all shape-shifters.
Figuratively, someone called a shape-shifter adapts their personality or position to suit circumstances: He's a political shape-shifter who changes views with the polls.
Shapeshifting wolf-person
- kitsuneJapanese folklore shapeshifter
- selkieShapeshifting seal of legend
- skinwalkerNavajo witch who transforms
- nagaDivine snake being
tanuki · berserker · rakshasa · doppelganger · fae · trickster · folklore · legend
Change form gradually
- metamorphoseChange form entirely
- transmuteChange in fundamental nature
- transfigureChange appearance dramatically
- transmogrifyChange form grotesquely
shapeshift · alter · convert · change · mutate · transform · flux · transition
One feigning another's identity
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
- personaAssumed public identity
- alter-egoAlternate version of oneself
- guiseExternal manner shown
incognito · facade · charade · deception · camouflage · cloak · cover · pretense
Lizard altering its pigmentation
- cuttlefishColor-changing cephalopod with internal shell
- octopusEight-limbed sea mollusk
- flatfishAsymmetrical seafloor swimmer
- flounderStruggle awkwardly, or seafood
camouflage · mimicry · adaptation · caterpillar · chrysalis
Aura of fascination
- changelingsFairy-swapped offspring
- terminatorOne who ends things
- thingUnspecified entity or matter
- dittoWord meaning "same"
werewolf
Shapeshifting wolf-person
- kitsuneJapanese folklore shapeshifter
- selkieShapeshifting seal of legend
- skinwalkerNavajo witch who transforms
naga · tanuki · berserker · rakshasa · doppelganger · fae · trickster · folklore · legend · shapeshifting
morph
Change form gradually
- metamorphoseChange form entirely
- transmuteChange in fundamental nature
- transfigureChange appearance dramatically
transmogrify · shapeshift · alter · convert · change · mutate · transform · flux · transition · reconfigure
impostor
One feigning another's identity
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
- personaAssumed public identity
- alter-egoAlternate version of oneself
guise · incognito · facade · charade · deception · camouflage · cloak · cover · pretense · anonymity
chameleon
Lizard altering its pigmentation
- cuttlefishColor-changing cephalopod with internal shell
- octopusEight-limbed sea mollusk
- flatfishAsymmetrical seafloor swimmer
flounder · camouflage · mimicry · adaptation · caterpillar · chrysalis
mystique
Aura of fascination
- changelingsFairy-swapped offspring
- terminatorOne who ends things
- thingUnspecified entity or matter
- Northwest Folkloresasquatch, thunderbird, raven, totem pole, spirit animals
- Tricksterstrickster, mischief-maker, Loki, rascal, Anansi
- fantasywizard, witch, magic, dragon, elf
- deceptionlie, lies, lying, fake, fraud
- deceiversliar, liars, deceiver, fraud, fake
- disguisesmask, costume, disguise, fake beard, fake mustache
shape-shifterfixed form
Poetry with required patterns
unchanging · immutable · constant · monomorphic · unalterable