transmutation

American  

[trans-myoo-tey-shuhn, tranz-] / ˌtræns myuˈteɪ ʃən, ˌtrænz- /

noun

1. the act or process of transmuting.

2. the fact or state of being transmuted.

3. change into another nature, substance, form, or condition.

4. Biology. the transformation of one species into another.

5. Physics. any process in which a nuclide is transformed into a different nuclide, usually one of a different element.

6. Alchemy. the supposed conversion of base metals into metals of greater value, especially into gold or silver.

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transmutation British  

/ ˌtrænzmjuːˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of transmuting

2. the change of one chemical element into another by a nuclear reaction

3. the attempted conversion, by alchemists, of base metals into gold or silver

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transmutation Scientific  

/ trăns′myo̅o̅-tā′shən /

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

• transmutational adjective
• transmutationist noun
• transmutative adjective

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

Example Sentences

It's difficult for researchers to make these kinds of observations; in fact, they are not able to directly observe acts of transmutation.

From Science Daily • Feb. 16, 2024

Some even predicted that controlled transmutation might produce gold as an accidental by-product, which could make people rich while solving all our energy woes.

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