Transmutation
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Change, alteration. countable, obsolete, uncountable
- 2 an act that changes the form or character or substance of something wordnet
- 3 The conversion of one thing into something else; transformation. countable, uncountable
"Up I rose and forth I fared: / Took my plunge within the bath-pool, pacified the watch-dog scared, / Saw proceed the transmutation—Jura's black to one gold glow, […]"
- 4 a qualitative change wordnet
- 5 The conversion of one thing into something else; transformation.; The supposed transformation of one element into another, especially of a base metal into gold. countable, uncountable
"The transmutation of metals was secondary to the main aim, which was the spiritual transformation of the adept."
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- 6 (physics) the change of one chemical element into another (as by nuclear decay or radioactive bombardment) wordnet
- 7 The conversion of one thing into something else; transformation.; The actual transformation of one element into another by a nuclear reaction. countable, uncountable
"Years later, scientists learned that the sun’s light—visible and invisible—is merely the by-product of a process alchemists had vainly tried to reproduce for centuries—the transmutation of one element into another. That nature accomplishes this before our very eyes, and that it is what creates the solar heat and light that supports all life, was suspected by no one. The revelation came as a complete surprise."
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"He learnt for the first time that there was no law of transmutation, as in his innocence he had supposed (there was, in some degree, but the grammarian did not recognize it), but that every word in both Latin and Greek was to be individually committed to memory at the cost of years of plodding."
Etymology
Late 14th century, from Old French transmutacion (“transformation, metamorphosis”), from Late Latin transmutationem, from Latin transmutare (“to change”).
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.