Develop vs. Transform — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Maham Liaqat — Updated on April 18, 2024
"Develop" refers to the process of growth or expansion in complexity, often gradually, while "transform" implies a significant change or conversion, typically more sudden or profound.
Difference Between Develop and Transform
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Development is often a gradual, evolutionary process, focused on improvement or expansion, such as skills development or economic growth. Transformation, by contrast, denotes a more radical or complete change, like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly.
In development, the changes are generally additive or progressive, enhancing or building on existing structures or capabilities. In transformation, the change can be more revolutionary, altering the fundamental nature or state of something.
Development can be seen in contexts such as software development or urban development, where incremental changes and advancements occur over time. Transformation is more about a shift in form or function, evident in scenarios like digital transformation or personal transformation.
The concept of development usually implies that the original state or foundation remains recognizable and is improved upon. However, in transformation, the original state might be completely redesigned or redefined.
Development is typically associated with planned, structured progress aiming for a specific goal, like professional development. Transformation might not always be as planned and can result from sudden insights, dramatic shifts in perspective, or disruptive innovations.
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Comparison Chart
Nature of Change
Incremental, additive
Radical, fundamental
Pace
Gradual
Can be sudden or rapid
Outcome
Enhances or expands on the existing
Alters fundamentally
Examples
Professional development, urban development
Digital transformation, personal transformation
Planning
Often structured and planned
Can occur spontaneously or be planned
Compare with Definitions
Develop
To grow or cause to grow and become more mature, advanced, or elaborate.
They hired more staff to help develop the project.
Transform
Can be rapid or dramatic, leading to a distinctly different outcome.
Digital tools have transformed traditional businesses.
Develop
Often associated with business, technology, and education.
The company invested heavily to develop new technologies.
Transform
Implies significant change, often improving functionality or efficiency.
Adopting new software transformed our workflow.
Develop
Emphasizes expansion or elaboration on something existing.
The city plans to develop the waterfront area.
Transform
Used in various contexts from personal development to technology.
He transformed his health through diet and exercise.
Develop
Involves gradual improvement or growth through stages.
She attended workshops to develop her management skills.
Transform
To make a thorough or dramatic change in the form, appearance, or character of.
The renovation completely transformed the old factory.
Develop
Process-oriented, focusing on step-by-step progression.
Developing a software requires careful planning and execution.
Transform
Involves a change that is often fundamental and profound.
The company's focus on innovation has transformed its market position.
Develop
Grow or cause to grow and become more mature, advanced, or elaborate
Enabling individuals to develop their personal skills
Motion pictures were to develop into mass entertainment
Transform
To change markedly the appearance or form of
"A thick, fibrous fog had transformed the trees into ghosts and the streetlights into soft, haloed moons" (David Michael Kaplan).
Develop
Start to exist, experience, or possess
A strange closeness developed
Call the doctor if your child develops a rash
I developed an interest in law
Transform
To change the nature, function, or condition of; convert
A steam engine transforms heat into mechanical energy.
Develop
Treat (a photographic film) with chemicals to make a visible image
She came to get the film developed
Transform
(Mathematics) To subject to a transformation.
Develop
Bring (a piece) into play from its initial position on a player's back rank
He preferred to develop his bishop on e7
Transform
(Electricity) To subject to the action of a transformer.
Develop
To bring from latency to or toward fulfillment
An instructor who develops the capabilities of each student.
Transform
(Genetics) To subject (a cell) to transformation.
Develop
To expand or enlarge
Developed a national corporation into a worldwide business.
Transform
To undergo a transformation.
Develop
To aid in the growth of; strengthen
Exercises that develop muscles.
Transform
The result, especially a mathematical quantity or linguistic construction, of a transformation.
Develop
To improve the quality of; refine
Develops his recipes to perfection.
An extra year of study to develop virtuosic technique.
Transform
(transitive) To change greatly the appearance or form of.
The alchemists sought to transform lead into gold.
Develop
To cause to become more complex or intricate; add detail and fullness to; elaborate
Began with a good premise but developed it without imagination.
Transform
(transitive) To change the nature, condition or function of; to change in nature, disposition, heart, character, etc.; to convert.
Develop
(Music) To elaborate (a theme) with rhythmic and harmonic variations.
Transform
To subject to a transformation; to change into another form without altering the value.
Develop
To bring into being gradually
Develop a new cottage industry.
Transform
To subject to the action of a transformer.
Develop
To set forth or clarify by degrees
Developed her thesis in a series of articles.
Transform
To subject (a cell) to transformation.
Develop
To come to have gradually; acquire
Develop a taste for opera.
Develop a friendship.
Transform
(intransitive) To undergo a transformation; to change in appearance or character.
Develop
To become affected with; contract
Developed a rash.
Developed agoraphobia.
Transform
(analysis) An operation (often an integration) that converts one function into another.
Develop
To influence the behavior of toward a specific end
An investigator who develops witnesses through flattery and intimidation.
Transform
(by extension) A function so produced.
Develop
To cause (a tract of land or a building) to serve a particular purpose
Developed the site as a community of condominiums.
Transform
A transform fault.
Develop
To make available and effective to fulfill a particular end or need
Develop the state's water resources to serve a growing population.
Transform
To change the form of; to change in shape or appearance; to metamorphose; as, a caterpillar is ultimately transformed into a butterfly.
Love may transform me to an oyster.
Develop
To convert or transform
Developed the play into a movie.
Transform
To change into another substance; to transmute; as, the alchemists sought to transform lead into gold.
Develop
(Games) To move (a chess piece) to or toward a more strategic position.
Transform
To change in nature, disposition, heart, character, or the like; to convert.
Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Develop
To process (a photosensitive medium such as exposed film) in order to produce a photographic image.
Transform
To change, as an algebraic expression or geometrical figure, into another from without altering its value.
Develop
To produce (a photographic image) by use of a photosensitive medium or by printing from a digital file.
Transform
To be changed in form; to be metamorphosed.
His hair transforms to down.
Develop
To grow by degrees into a more advanced or mature state
With hard work, she developed into a great writer.
Transform
Subject to a mathematical transformation
Develop
To increase or expand
Sales developed until we needed a bigger warehouse.
Transform
Change or alter in form, appearance, or nature;
This experience transformed her completely
She transformed the clay into a beautiful sculpture
Transubstantiate one element into another
Develop
To improve; advance
Their skill developed until it rivaled their teacher's.
Transform
Change in outward structure or looks;
He transformed into a monster
The salesman metamorphosed into an ugly beetle
Develop
To come gradually into existence or activity
Tension developed between students and faculty.
Transform
Change from one form or medium into another;
Braque translated collage into oil
Develop
To come gradually to light; be disclosed
Reports the news as it develops.
Transform
Convert (one form of energy) to another;
Transform energy to light
Develop
To progress from earlier to later stages of a life cycle
Caterpillars develop into butterflies.
Transform
Change (a bacterial cell) into a genetically distinct cell by the introduction of DNA from another cell of the same or closely related species
Develop
To progress from earlier to later stages of evolution
Mammals developed during the Mesozoic Era.
Transform
Increase or decrease (an alternating current or voltage)
Develop
To discover, find out; to uncover.
Develop
(intransitive) To change with a specific direction, progress.
Let's see how things develop and then make our decision.
Develop
(ambitransitive) To progress through a sequence of stages.
Isabel developed from a tropical depression to a tropical storm to a hurricane.
An embryo develops into a fetus and then into an infant.
Develop
(transitive) To advance; to further; to promote the growth of.
Develop
(transitive) To create.
I need to develop a plan for the next three weeks.
Develop
(transitive) To bring out images latent in photographic film.
Please develop this roll of film.
Develop
(transitive) To acquire something usually over a period of time.
I have been in England enough to develop a British accent.
You will develop calluses if you play the cello.
She developed bad eating habits.
Develop
To place one's pieces actively.
I need to develop my white-square bishop.
Develop
To cause a ball to become more open and available to be played on later. Usually by moving it away from the cushion, or by opening a pack.
Develop
(math) To change the form of (an algebraic expression, etc.) by executing certain indicated operations without changing the value.
Develop
To free from that which infolds or envelops; to unfold; to lay open by degrees or in detail; to make visible or known; to disclose; to produce or give forth; as, to develop theories; a motor that develops 100 horse power.
These serve to develop its tenets.
The 20th was spent in strengthening our position and developing the line of the enemy.
Develop
To unfold gradually, as a flower from a bud; hence, to bring through a succession of states or stages, each of which is preparatory to the next; to form or expand by a process of growth; to cause to change gradually from an embryo, or a lower state, to a higher state or form of being; as, sunshine and rain develop the bud into a flower; to develop the mind.
The sound developed itself into a real compound.
All insects . . . acquire the jointed legs before the wings are fully developed.
Develop
To advance; to further; to prefect; to make to increase; to promote the growth of.
We must develop our own resources to the utmost.
Develop
To change the form of, as of an algebraic expression, by executing certain indicated operations without changing the value.
Develop
To cause to become visible, as an invisible or latent image upon plate, by submitting it to chemical agents; to bring to view.
Develop
To go through a process of natural evolution or growth, by successive changes from a less perfect to a more perfect or more highly organized state; to advance from a simpler form of existence to one more complex either in structure or function; as, a blossom develops from a bud; the seed develops into a plant; the embryo develops into a well-formed animal; the mind develops year by year.
Nor poets enough to understandThat life develops from within.
Develop
To become apparent gradually; as, a picture on sensitive paper develops on the application of heat; the plans of the conspirators develop.
Develop
Make something new, such as a product or a mental or artistic creation;
Her company developed a new kind of building material that withstands all kinds of weather
They developed a new technique
Develop
Work out;
We have developed a new theory of evolution
Develop
Gain through experience;
I acquired a strong aversion to television
Children must develop a sense of right and wrong
Dave developed leadership qualities in his new position
Develop a passion for painting
Develop
Come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes);
He grew a beard
The patient developed abdominal pains
I got funny spots all over my body
Well-developed breasts
Develop
Come into existence; take on form or shape;
A new religious movement originated in that country
A love that sprang up from friendship
The idea for the book grew out of a short story
An interesting phenomenon uprose
Develop
Change the use of and make available or usable;
Develop land
The country developed its natural resources
The remote areas of the country were gradually built up
Develop
Elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses;
Could you develop the ideas in your thesis
Develop
Create by training and teaching;
The old master is training world-class violinists
We develop the leaders for the future
Develop
Be gradually disclosed or unfolded; become manifest;
The plot developed slowly
Develop
Grow, progress, unfold, or evolve through a process of evolution, natural growth, differentiation, or a conducive environment;
A flower developed on the branch
The country developed into a mighty superpower
The embryo develops into a fetus
This situation has developed over a long time
Develop
Become technologically advanced;
Many countries in Asia are now developing at a very fast pace
Viet Nam is modernizing rapidly
Develop
Cause to grow and differentiate in ways conforming to its natural development;
The perfect climate here develops the grain
He developed a new kind of apple
Develop
Generate gradually;
We must develop more potential customers
Develop a market for the new mobile phone
Develop
Grow emotionally or mature;
The child developed beautifully in her new kindergarten
When he spent a summer at camp, the boy grew noticeably and no longer showed some of his old adolescent behavior
Develop
Make visible by means of chemical solutions;
Please develop this roll of film for me
Develop
Superimpose a three-dimensional surface on a plane without stretching, in geometry
Develop
Move one's pieces into strategically more advantageous positions;
Spassky developed quickly
Develop
Move into a strategically more advantageous position;
Develop the rook
Develop
Elaborate by the unfolding of a musical idea and by the working out of the rhythmic and harmonic changes in the theme;
Develop the melody and change the key
Develop
Happen;
Report the news as it develops
These political movements recrudesce from time to time
Develop
Expand in the form of a series;
Develop the function in the following form
Common Curiosities
Can development lead to transformation?
Yes, ongoing development can eventually lead to transformation if the changes are significant enough.
What is an example of transformation in nature?
A classic example is a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, which is a complete change in form.
What role does planning play in development and transformation?
Development usually requires structured planning, while transformation can be more spontaneous or driven by external factors.
What does it mean to develop something?
It means to cause it to grow or become more elaborate, often through gradual improvements.
What does it mean to transform something?
It means to change it dramatically, often improving it or changing its fundamental characteristics.
Is transformation always positive?
While often aimed at improvement, transformation can be challenging and may not always lead to positive outcomes.
What is digital transformation?
It refers to the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how the business operates and delivers value to customers.
What does transformation mean in a technological context?
In technology, transformation often refers to fundamental shifts in operations, services, or capabilities through innovation.
How do organizations use development?
Organizations use development for improving skills, expanding business operations, or advancing technologies.
How can personal development differ from personal transformation?
Personal development is about gradual self-improvement, whereas personal transformation involves significant changes in beliefs or behaviors.
Can a small change be transformative?
Yes, even a small change can be transformative if it significantly alters how something functions or is perceived.
How does transformation occur in businesses?
It can occur through adopting new technologies, overhauling business models, or radically changing organizational structures.
Can cities undergo transformation?
Yes, cities can transform through urban development projects that change their landscape and functionality.
How is transformation managed?
Effective transformation is typically managed through strategic leadership, clear vision, and careful change management.
What is the difference between developing and building?
Developing involves more than just building; it includes planning, designing, and improving over time.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat
