shapeshifter
Takes many forms
A shapeshifter 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, skin-walkers, gods who take human form.
Figuratively, a shapeshifter is someone who adapts their personality or appearance to different situations: He's a political shapeshifter, changing positions with the polls.
Shapeshifting wolf-person
- skinwalkerNavajo witch who transforms
- kitsuneJapanese folklore shapeshifter
- selkieShapeshifting seal of legend
- doppelgangerSupernatural duplicate of oneself
tanuki · lycanthrope · pooka · tengu · nagas · changeling · berserker · swan maiden
Profound biological restructuring
- transmutationComplete change of form
- transfigurationExalted change in appearance
- transmogrificationFantastical change in form
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
alteration · shifting · flux · reshaping · reconfiguration · conversion · changeover · reinvention
Identity-concealing alteration
- impostorOne feigning another's identity
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
- tricksterCunning deceiver in myth
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
guile · camouflage · duplicity · pretense · charlatan · feint · bluff · deceit
werewolf
Shapeshifting wolf-person
- skinwalkerNavajo witch who transforms
- kitsuneJapanese folklore shapeshifter
- selkieShapeshifting seal of legend
doppelganger · tanuki · lycanthrope · pooka · tengu · nagas · changeling · berserker · swan maiden
metamorphosis
Profound biological restructuring
- transmutationComplete change of form
- transfigurationExalted change in appearance
- transmogrificationFantastical change in form
mutation · alteration · shifting · flux · reshaping · reconfiguration · conversion · changeover · reinvention · plasticity
disguise
Identity-concealing alteration
- impostorOne feigning another's identity
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
- tricksterCunning deceiver in myth
subterfuge · guile · camouflage · duplicity · pretense · charlatan · feint · bluff · deceit · mimicry
familiar
Known from experience
- specterGhostly threatening presence
- phantasmIllusory supernatural appearance
- demonMalevolent supernatural being
spirit · fairy · witch · sorcerer · warlock · enchantment · occult · arcane · conjurer · bewitchment
mystique
Aura of fascination
- terminatorOne who ends things
- copycatOne who mimics another
- morphChange form gradually
- fantasywizard, witch, magic, dragon, elf
- mythical creaturesdragon, dragons, vampire, vampires, werewolf
- mythsmyth, legend, fable, fairy tale, folk tale
- supernatural beingsghost, demon, phantom, specter, banshee
- adaptabilityadapt, flexibility, resilience, adaptability, pliability
- character tropesantihero, hero, damsel in distress, mentor, femme fatale
shapeshifterfixed form
Poetry with required patterns
statue · monolith · golem · permanence · mummy
shapeshifterwhat you see is what you get
No deception or concealment
true self · true form · authentic self · genuine article · honest broker
shapeshifterunchangeable
Impossible to modify
dinosaur · fossil · set in stone · hidebound · unadaptable
shapeshifting, shapeshifters, shapeshift, shapeshifts, shapeshifted