transmute

[ trans-myoot, tranz- ]

verb (used with or without object)

, trans·mut·ed, trans·mut·ing.

1. to change from one nature, substance, form, or condition into another; transform.

   Synonyms: alter, convert, metamorphose

transmute

/ trænzˈmjuːt /

verb

1. to change the form, character, or substance of
2. to alter (an element, metal, etc) by alchemy

Derived Forms

• transˈmutable, adjective
• transˈmuter, noun
• transˈmutably, adverb
• transˌmutaˈbility, noun

Other Words From

• trans·muta·ble adjective
• trans·muta·bili·ty trans·muta·ble·ness noun
• trans·muta·bly adverb
• trans·muter noun
• untrans·muta·bili·ty noun
• untrans·muta·ble adjective
• untrans·muta·ble·ness noun
• untrans·muta·bly adverb
• untrans·muted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of transmute¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin trānsmūtāre to shift, equivalent to trāns- trans- + mūtāre to change.

Word History and Origins

Origin of transmute¹

C15: via Old French from Latin transmūtāre to shift, from trans- + mūtāre to change

Example Sentences

Some thought if they discovered that recipe, they would be able to copy it and transmute any cell into an egg.

From MIT Technology Review

In this vision, the mill would transmute into something wholly different, just as uranium itself does, in a process that is the exact opposite of decay.

From Popular-Science

Comedy, when done well, has the power to transmute our personal and collective pain.

From Washington Post

It’s a cauldron of extremes, a turbulent soup of transmuting matter, where particles and forces often ignored in our everyday world become critical.

From Quanta Magazine

In her world, insight into nature starts on the scale of miniature and is transmuted to the monumental.

From Nautilus

Related Words

• metamorphose
• mutate