alter out of (all) recognition

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alter out of (all) recognition

To change so much or so dramatically as to now be completely unfamiliar or unrecognizable. She had shown me some early drafts, but her final copy was really altered out of recognition. Please don't alter the room out of all recognition, OK? I'm just looking to refresh the space, not overhaul it. I started out vowing only to do fillers and other equally-minor procedures, but after several years of "tweaks," my face was altered out of all recognition.

change, alter, etc. beyond/out of (all) recogˈnition

change, etc. such a lot that people do not recognize you, it, etc: I went back to Birmingham after 20 years and it had changed beyond all recognition. ♢ She had changed beyond all recognition since I last saw her.