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Is there a term for something that is thought of in one way, then something happens and it's suddenly thought of in a new way?

English Language & Usage Asked by Stu Heinecke on January 27, 2021

I’m writing a business growth strategy book based on weeds. Weeds are thought of as essentially living garbage, as pests, as useless. But they are actually miracles of strategy, resilience and execution. I believe my book will cause many to see weeds in a whole new way, and I’d like to use the term, if there is one, to describe them. The closest I’ve found is neologism, which can mean the introduction of new meanings to existing words.

6 Answers

Reevaluate. Reassess. See it in a new light.

Answered by Pete on January 27, 2021

Serendipity is the occurrence and development by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

This captures some, but not all, of the meaning you are searching for. It doesn't address the aspect of looking at something in a different way.

Answered by Walter Mitty on January 27, 2021

You want people to see weeds in a different light. I do not know how neologism fits there; you are just taking up a commonplace entity and trying to breathe new perspective and meaning into it. Sounds cool!

Anyway, I suggest you go with perspective as in Weeds: A fresh perspective or perhaps approach as in Weeds: A different approach.

And both these words are nouns, to boot.

Answered by user405662 on January 27, 2021

Thank you for the replies here. I found one word, transmogrify, which means to transform in a surprising or magical manner. That fits pretty nicely as a verb. But perhaps it's time to create a new word to describe the transformed object. My best candidate: Ampliomorph. Amplio is to improve, increase or enhance, Morph is, of course, to change or transform. An ampliomorph would be something which has been transformed into something greater than its former form.

Answered by Stu Heinecke on January 27, 2021

Thank you for your consideration and help. We didn't find a word that fits this precisely, but found some workarounds.

Answered by Stu Heinecke on January 27, 2021

How about "paradigm shift"?

Paradigm shift—a time/situation when the usual and accepted way of doing or thinking about something changes completely

CED

An example from Investopedia:

The internet created a paradigm shift in the way business is conducted.

Answered by niamulbengali on January 27, 2021

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