transmutation
Americannoun
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the act or process of transmuting.
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the fact or state of being transmuted.
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change into another nature, substance, form, or condition.
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Biology. the transformation of one species into another.
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Physics. any process in which a nuclide is transformed into a different nuclide, usually one of a different element.
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Alchemy. the supposed conversion of base metals into metals of greater value, especially into gold or silver.
noun
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the act or an instance of transmuting
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the change of one chemical element into another by a nuclear reaction
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the attempted conversion, by alchemists, of base metals into gold or silver
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of transmutation
1350–1400; Middle English transmutacio ( u ) n (< Old French transmutation ) < Latin trānsmūtātiōn- (stem of trānsmūtātiō ) a changing, shifting, equivalent to trānsmūtāt ( us ) (past participle of trānsmūtāre to change) + -iōn- -ion. See transmute, -ation
Vocabulary lists containing transmutation
Nuclear Processes
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Physics - High School
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"Hamlet's Dull Revenge," Vocabulary from the literary criticism
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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.
"We are confident that our measurements accurately reflect the real rate of transmutation of unstable selenium into a more stable form," said Imai.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 16, 2024
Indeed, when Soddy realized what was going on, he shouted to his colleague: "Rutherford, this is transmutation!"
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2023
To him the sun was less a stable object than a river, in its perpetual transmutation, and he said he never saw the same eclipse twice.
From New York Times ● Nov. 20, 2022
Pinocchio’s transmutation from the 2-D animated design into one with volume makes for an almost identical copy because he remains an inanimate object that can keep his cartoonish features.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2022
He believed he had seen transmutation performed; he evidently thought it likely that the anonymous stranger who had performed it, in his presence and with his assistance, was an angel, no less.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
