Sea change
WordNet
noun
(1) A profound transformation
WiktionaryText
Etymology
Coined in Shakespeare's The Tempest: "Full fathom five thy father lies: / Of his bones are coral made: / Those are pearls that were his eyes: / Nothing of him that doth fade / But doth suffer a sea-change / Into something rich and strange."
Noun
- A profound transformation.
- Public opinion has undergone a sea change since the 2002 elections.