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transmute

[ trans-myoot, tranz- ]
/ trænsˈmyut, trænz- /
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verb (used with or without object), trans·mut·ed, trans·mut·ing.

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

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RELATED WORDS

mutate, metamorphose, interchange, transpose, make, modify, transform, remodel, turn, switch, commute, reorganize, transmogrify, transubstantiate, apply, download, transfigure, appropriate, translate, alter

Nearby words

transmontane, transmundane, transmural, transmutation, transmutative, transmute, transnational, transnationalism, transnationally, transnet, transoceanic

Origin of transmute

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin trānsmūtāre to shift, equivalent to trāns- trans- + mūtāre to change.
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for transmute

transmute

/ (trænzˈmjuːt) /

verb (tr)

to change the form, character, or substance of
to alter (an element, metal, etc) by alchemy
Derived Formstransmutability, nountransmutable, adjectivetransmutably, adverbtransmuter, noun

Word Origin for transmute

C15: via Old French from Latin transmūtāre to shift, from trans- + mūtāre to change
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for transmute

transmute

v.

early 15c., from Latin transmutare, from trans- (see trans-) + mutare (see mutable). Related: Transmuted; transmuting.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper