the more things change, the more they stay the same
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Fundamental aspects remain unchanged despite superficial changes
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Những khía cạnh cơ bản vẫn không thay đổi mặc dù có những thay đổi bề mặt
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “the more things change, the more they stay the same” mean?
Fundamental aspects remain unchanged despite superficial changes
Is “the more things change, the more they stay the same” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.