transmutation

[ trans-myoo-tey-shuhn, tranz- ]
See synonyms for transmutation on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act or process of transmuting.

  2. the fact or state of being transmuted.

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

  2. Biology. the transformation of one species into another.: Compare transformism.

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

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

Origin of transmutation

1
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

Other words from transmutation

  • trans·mu·ta·tion·al, trans·mut·a·tive [trans-myoo-tuh-tiv, tranz-], /trænsˈmyu tə tɪv, trænz-/, adjective
  • trans·mu·ta·tion·ist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for transmutation

transmutation

/ (ˌtrænzmjuːˈteɪʃən) /


noun
  1. the act or an instance of transmuting

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

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

Derived forms of transmutation

  • transmutational or transmutative, adjective
  • transmutationist, noun, adjective

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

Scientific definitions for transmutation

transmutation

[ trăns′myōō-tāshən ]


  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.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.