Change CSS class properties with jQuery

Question

Is there a way to change the properties of a CSS class, not the element properties, using jQuery?

This is a practical example:

I have a div with class

Answer 1

Didn't find the answer I wanted, so I solved it myself:
modify a container div!

 
  
This div gets scaled on hover



This div does not

css you want to persist after executing $target.css()

.content:hover {
    transform: scale(1.5);
}

modify content's containing div with css()

$(".rotation").css("transform", "rotate(" + degrees + "deg)");

Codepen example