trans·for·ma·tion

noun: transformation; plural noun: transformations a thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance. "its landscape has undergone a radical transformation"
synonyms: change, alteration, mutation, conversion, metamorphosis, transfiguration, transmutation, sea change; More
a metamorphosis during the life cycle of an animal.
PHYSICS
the induced or spontaneous change of one element into another by a nuclear process.
MATHEMATICSLOGIC
a process by which one figure, expression, or function is converted into another that is equivalent in some important respect but is differently expressed or represented.
LINGUISTICS
a process by which an element in the underlying deep structure of a sentence is converted to an element in the surface structure.
BIOLOGY
the genetic alteration of a cell by introduction of extraneous DNA, especially by a plasmid. the heritable modification of a cell from its normal state to a malignant state.