You may have heard someone described as a chameleon. It means that the person’s ideas or ways of thinking change to be similar to the people they’re with. In other words, their surroundings.
People who use the word chameleon this way have the wrong idea about real chameleons. It’s true that chameleons blend in with their surroundings. That chameleons living in trees are usually green and chameleons in deserts are usually brown. But their ability to change from one color to another is something else altogether. And it doesn’t have anything to do with blending in.
