mutant
Americanadjective
noun
-
mutants
plural
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of mutant
1900–05; < Latin mūtant- (stem of mūtāns ), present participle of mūtāre to change; see -ant
Compare meaning
How does mutant compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
When an animal's genes change, or mutate, the new form of the animal that results is a mutant. One example of such a mutant is a blue lobster. Another is the teenage mutant ninja turtle. You can use the scientific term mutant for any plant or animal that's the result of a change, or mutation, in the DNA of that organism. When the word is used as an adjective, it describes something having to do with this kind of mutation, like a mutant chromosome or a mutant lobster. Mutant stems from the Latin mutantem, which means "changing."
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.
See Examples For:
The movie’s biggest reveal involves the identity of the villain played by Sadie Sink — and plenty of questions remain about her future and what her appearance means for a certain fan-favorite mutant superhero team.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Tharp engineered two types of mutant plants, each missing a particular set of PEX11 genes.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 25, 2026
Peter Nowell, a pathologist, argued in 1976 that cancers arise from a single mutant cell and then evolve, as offspring acquire new mutations and compete for dominance—a prediction that single-cell sequencing has dramatically confirmed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
"Working with mouse models and cells derived from patients with Rett syndrome, our study provides proof of concept that increasing the levels of mutant MeCP2 in patients with the condition could provide therapeutic benefit."
From Science Daily ● Mar. 6, 2026
Mini turned even redder, now looking like a tomato’s mutant cousin.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
"In our PEX11 mutants, these vesicles either don't form or are abnormally small and rare, and so we see these massive peroxisomes, way larger than normal."
From Science Daily ● Apr. 25, 2026
The surface is now home to scavengers, soldiers, mutants, and ghouls, all doing their best to survive on spoiled food, brackish water, and whatever’s left in long-abandoned vending machines.
From Salon ● May 12, 2025
"It was a proper disaster, but it didn't cause strange glowing plants or mutants or dangerous cults to emerge."
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2025
He endorsed normal Senate candidates over lab-born mutants in swing-state primaries, and stopped feuding with old enemies in the name of party unity.
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2024
Lewis studied mutants in which the organization of these segments was disrupted.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
