transmute
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
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to change the form, character, or substance of
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to alter (an element, metal, etc) by alchemy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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untransmutedadjective
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transmutablyadverb
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untransmutablyadverb
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transmutablenessnoun
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untransmutablenessnoun
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transmuternoun
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transmutabilitynoun
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untransmutableadjective
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untransmutabilitynoun
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transmutableadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have transmutedperfect
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has transmutedperfect 3rd person singular
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have been transmutingperfect progressive
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are transmutingprogressive
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has been transmutingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is transmutingprogressive 3rd person singular
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transmutingparticiple
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am transmutingprogressive 1st person singular
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transmutessingular 3rd person
Past
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had transmutedperfect
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was transmutingprogressive singular
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had been transmutingperfect progressive
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were transmutingprogressive plural
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transmutedsimple
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transmutedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of transmute
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin trānsmūtāre to shift, equivalent to trāns- trans- + mūtāre to change.
Explanation
Transmute is a verb meaning to change in appearance or form. For example, magical creatures can transmute into other beings. When you're fighting a wizard, don’t be surprised if he transmutes into a terrifying dragon. More realistically, you, too, can transmute your appearance — by dying your hair, piercing your nose, or changing your style of dress. Transmute often describes physical change — like when alchemists tried to transmute lead into gold — but it can also be used more figuratively to describe anything that's transformed. For example, you might transmute your sketchy memories of growing up in Boston into the Great American Novel.
Vocabulary lists containing transmute
American Gods
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The Good Earth
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The Left Hand of Darkness
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Transmute, trans-mūt′, v.t. to change to another form or substance.—adj.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
Transmute every incident of your day into a subject for a speech or an illustration.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Carnagey, Dale
Transmute grief for the dead into love for the living.
From Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 09 Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Reformers by Hubbard, Elbert
We can only Transmute things around us by using both Force and Order.
From Manual of the Enumeration A Text Book on the Sciences of the Enumeration by Coffman, C. J.
Transmute to glittering flints her chalky lands, Or sink on Ocean's bed in countless sands.
From The Botanic Garden A Poem in Two Parts. Part 1: the Economy of Vegetation by Darwin, Erasmus
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
