Retransformation

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of converting something back into its original or a previous form after it has been changed or transformed ; a repeated change in shape, structure, or appearance reversing an earlier alteration ; the act of restoring or returning an entity to a prior state through a secondary transformation
2. The act or process of undergoing a second transformation to revert an altered object or condition to an earlier condition ; a repeated modification that restores a previous configuration or form ; the operation of changing something back or anew after it has been modified once before
3. A subsequent transformation aimed at reversing or modifying an earlier change ; the procedure of converting an item or state again to a former or original form ; a repeated process of altering something back from its transformed state to a preceding one

Etymology: "Retransformation" is a plain compound built from the prefix "re-", meaning "again" or "back," and "transformation," which comes from the Latin "transformare," "to change shape" (from "trans," across, and "forma," shape). Put together, the word simply means a second change that undoes or restores an earlier change, so a transformation that is reversed or repeated becomes a retransformation. The pattern is productive in English: "re-" attaches freely to verbs and nouns of action, so "transformation" can take it without any special history. The word's value lies less in any single surprising origin than in its precision. Where "transformation" describes a change of form, "retransformation" marks a change of form that returns something to a state it had before.

Synonyms: reversion, restoration, reconversion, reinstatement, renewal

Antonyms: transformation, conversion, degradation, deterioration