transmutation
the act or process of transmuting.
the fact or state of being transmuted.
change into another nature, substance, form, or condition.
Biology. the transformation of one species into another.: Compare transformism.
Physics. any process in which a nuclide is transformed into a different nuclide, usually one of a different element.
Alchemy. the supposed conversion of base metals into metals of greater value, especially into gold or silver.
Origin of transmutation
1Other words from transmutation
- trans·mu·ta·tion·al, trans·mut·a·tive [trans-myoo-tuh-tiv, tranz-], /trænsˈmyu tə tɪv, trænz-/, adjective
- trans·mu·ta·tion·ist, noun
Words Nearby transmutation
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use transmutation in a sentence
He decorated Arca Arcanorum with an emblem copied from a medieval alchemical scroll, illustrating the allegorical process of alchemical transmutation necessary for the Philosophers’ Stone.
Deciphering the Philosophers’ Stone: How Scientists Cracked a 400-Year-Old Alchemical Cipher | Richard Bean | October 28, 2021 | Singularity HubThe ship set sail in 1831, but it wasn’t until 1835, on a visit to the Galapagos Islands toward the end of the voyage, that Darwin began to formulate his theory of natural selection, which at the time was referred to as “transmutation of species.”
British Dictionary definitions for transmutation
/ (ˌtrænzmjuːˈteɪʃən) /
the act or an instance of transmuting
the change of one chemical element into another by a nuclear reaction
the attempted conversion, by alchemists, of base metals into gold or silver
Derived forms of transmutation
- transmutational or transmutative, adjective
- transmutationist, noun, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for transmutation
[ trăns′myōō-tā′shən ]
The changing of one chemical element into another. Transmutations occur naturally through radioactive decay, or artificially by bombarding the nucleus of a substance with subatomic particles.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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