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.
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
The sculpture relates to “yearning for freedom and transmutation in constricting situations,” Monteiro says.
From New York Times ● Feb. 23, 2023
And when we’re working together, that’s where the magic and the transmutation can happen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 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.
