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v. con·vert·ed, con·vert·ing, con·verts v.tr. 1. To change (something) into another form, substance, state, or product; transform: convert water into ice. 2. To change (something) from one use, function, or purpose to another; adapt to a new or different purpose: convert a forest into farmland. 3. To persuade or induce to adopt a particular religion, faith, or belief: convert pagans to Christianity; was converted to pacifism by the war. 4. To exchange for something of equal value: convert assets into cash. 5. To express (a quantity) in alternative units: converting feet into meters. 6. Logic To transform (a proposition) by conversion. 7. Law To appropriate (another's property) without right to one's own use. 8. Sports a. To complete (a conversion, penalty shot, or free throw) successfully. b. To score (a spare) in bowling. v.intr. 1. To undergo a conversion: We converted to Islam several years ago. 2. To be converted: a sofa that converts into a bed; arms factories converting to peacetime production. 3. a. Football To make a conversion. b. Sports To shoot and score a goal, especially immediately after receiving a pass or gaining control of a rebound. n. (kŏnvûrt′) One who has been converted, especially from one religion or belief to another. [Middle English converten, from Old French convertir, from Latin convertere, to turn around : com-, intensive pref.; see COM- + vertere, to turn; see wer-2 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] Synonyms: convert, metamorphose, transfigure, transform, transmogrify, transmute These verbs mean to change into a different form, substance, or state: convert stocks into cash; misery that was metamorphosed into happiness; a gangling adolescent who was transfigured into a handsome adult; transformed the bare stage into an enchanted forest; a boom that transmogrified the sleepy town into a bustling city; transmute one's experiences into fiction. |
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