be·com·ing

[bih-kuhm-ing]
adjective
1.
that suits or gives a pleasing effect or attractive appearance, as to a person or thing: a becoming dress; a becoming hairdo.
2.
suitable; appropriate; proper: a becoming sentiment.
noun
3.
any process of change.
4.
Aristotelianism. any change involving realization of potentialities, as a movement from the lower level of potentiality to the higher level of actuality.
Origin:
1555–65; become + -ing1, -ing2

Related forms
be·com·ing·ly, adverb
be·com·ing·ness, noun
well-be·com·ing, adjective

Synonyms
1. comely. 2. fitting, meet, fit, apt, right, decorous, congruous, seemly.
00:10
Becoming is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

be·come

[bih-kuhm] verb, be·came, be·come, be·com·ing.
verb (used without object)
1.
to come, change, or grow to be (as specified): He became tired.
2.
to come into being.
verb (used with object)
3.
to be attractive on; befit in appearance; look well on: That gown becomes you.
4.
to be suitable or necessary to the dignity, situation, or responsibility of: conduct that becomes an officer.
Idioms
5.
become of, to happen to; be the fate of: What will become of him?
Origin:
before 900; Middle English becumen, Old English becuman to come about, happen; cognate with Dutch bekomen, German bekommen, Gothic biqiman. See be-, come

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To becoming
Collins
World English Dictionary
become (bɪˈkʌm) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—vb , -comes, -coming, -came, -come
1.  (copula) to come to be; develop or grow into: he became a monster
2.  (foll by of; usually used in a question) to fall to or be the lot (of); happen (to): what became of him?
3.  (tr) (of clothes, etc) to enhance the appearance of (someone); suit: that dress becomes you
4.  (tr) to be appropriate; befit: it ill becomes you to complain
 
[Old English becuman to happen; related to Old High German biqueman to come to, Gothic biquiman to appear suddenly]

becoming (bɪˈkʌmɪŋ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—adj
1.  suitable; appropriate
 
—n
2.  any process of change
3.  (in the philosophy of Aristotle) any change from the lower level of potentiality to the higher level of actuality
 
be'comingly
 
—adv
 
be'comingness
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

become
O.E. becuman "happen, come about," also "meet with, arrive," from P.Gmc. *bikweman "become" (cf. Du. bekomen, Ger. bekommen, Goth. biquiman). A compound of be and come; it drove out O.E. weorðan.

becoming
"looking well," 1560s, from earlier sense of "be fitting" (early 13c.), from become.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Once a source of economic dynamism, megacities risk becoming a drag on growth.
Branding with a sustainable theme is becoming more common.
How the organism manages to be so successful is becoming clearer.
Mashups--online applications that combine data and tools from different
  websites--are becoming increasingly useful.
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