Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The act or an instance of transmuting; transformation.
- n. The state of being transmuted.
- n. Physics Transformation of one element into another by one or a series of nuclear reactions.
- n. The supposed conversion of base metals into gold or silver in alchemy.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The act of transmuting, or the state of being transmuted: change into another substance, form, or nature.
- n. In alchemy, the changing of baser metals into metals of greater value, especially into gold or silver.
- n. In geometry, the change or reduction of one figure or body into another of the same area or solidity but of a different form, as of a triangle into a square; transformation.
- n. In biology, the change of one species into another by any means; transpeciation; transformism. The history of the idea or of the fact runs parallel with that of transformism, from an early crude or vulgar notion akin to that involved in the alchemy of metals (see above) to the modern scientific conception of transmutation as an evolutionary process, or the gradual modification of one species into another by descent with modification through many generations.
- n. Successive change; alternation; interchange.
- n. Synonyms See transform, transitive verb
Wiktionary
- n. the act of transmuting or the state of being transmuted
- n. the supposed transformation of base metals into gold by the alchemists
- n. physics the transformation of one element into another by a nuclear reaction
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The act of transmuting, or the state of being transmuted.
- n. (Geom.), rare The change or reduction of one figure or body into another of the same area or solidity, but of a different form, as of a triangle into a square.
- n. (Biol.) The change of one species into another, which is assumed to take place in any development theory of life; transformism.
WordNet 3.0
- n. (physics) the change of one chemical element into another (as by nuclear decay or radioactive bombardment)
- n. an act that changes the form or character or substance of something
- n. a qualitative change
Examples
“The analysis made by Cockcroft and Walton of the energy relations in a transmutation is of particular interest, because a verification was provided by this analysis for Einstein's law concerning the equivalence of mass and energy.”
“But they were also fascinated with the idea of transmutation and believed in a sort of infinite mutability of matter.”
“In the Middle Ages, and, indeed, down to the time of that great philosopher, Sir Isaac Newton, who was himself bitten with the craze, it was widely believed that, by what was known as transmutation, the baser metals might be changed to gold; and much time and trouble were expended in attempts to make gold -- needless to say without the desired result.”
Getting Gold: a practical treatise for prospectors, miners and students
“In 1809 Lamarck introduced the idea of transmutation of species, suggesting that by changes in habitat, climate, and manner of living one species may, in the course of generations, be transformed into a new and distinct species.”
“A girl should know something of what I have elsewhere called the transmutation of sex as it shows itself in the higher as distinguished from the lower types of manhood: she should know that it is good for a youth to spend his energy in visible ways and in the light of day; there is the less likelihood that it is being spent otherwise.”
“The very persons who had most eagerly accepted the idea of transmutation of European species into American species, and similar limited variations through changed environment, because of the relief thus given the otherwise overcrowded ark, were now foremost in denouncing such an extension of the doctrine of transmutation as Lamarck proposed.”
“Not long after the middle of the eighteenth century Buffon had put forward the idea of transmutation of species, and he reiterated it from time to time from then on till his death in 1788.”
“While the names of Darwin and Goethe, and in particular that of Lamarck, must always stand out in high relief in this generation as the exponents of the idea of transmutation of species, there are a few others which must not be altogether overlooked in this connection.”
“But in that day there was little proof forthcoming of its validity that could satisfy any one but a poet, and when Erasmus Darwin died, in 1802, the idea of transmutation of species was still but an unsubstantiated dream.”
“But the time was not yet ripe for the idea of transmutation of species to burst its bonds.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘transmutation’.
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11250 more...
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You're a SUPER Hero!
List as many "super" powers as you can think of! Anything that would be called for example "super strength", please remove the first word and list only the second word Thanks!
flight, flying, hovering, strength, invisibility, intelligence, psychic, telekinesis, smell, touch, taste, hearing and 47 more...
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Twitter favorites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favorite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
unfathomably, glice, cuh, fab, ciggaty, doll, thuggin, oxymoronic, pineapple, succubutt, griming, cheeky and 3027 more... -
kat's words
ecumenical, cacophony, clatter, marimba, bamboo, saffron, slice, mercurial, pomegranate, cranky, slipshod, scritch and 511 more...
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inkhorn's Words
inkhorn, aplomb, apotheosis, asinine, avatar, bombastic, boorish, bromide, bucolic, cagey, canvass, digress and 991 more...
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Why We Curse: WTF?
This list collects the magnificent collection of vocabulary of the article "What the F***? Why We Curse," by Steven Pinker, in The New Republic (Oct. 2007). I think I'm more impressed with the coll...
curse, language, earthy, ancient, unthinkable, thinkable, emotional, rhyme, meter, alliteration, pleasure, metaphor and 196 more...
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alchemicality
alchemical, alchemy, alchemist, hermetic, hermeticism, philosopher's stone, splendor solis, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, sulphur and 258 more...
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Ultrapow
A mighty myriad of Mister Mxyzptlk manifestation. This list leans towards one-word superpowers and occasionally the ridiculous.
Spin-off lists: Ultrafrow - absurd powers, Flossational...telepathy, psychometry, retrocognition, precognition, clairvoyance, mediumship, illusions, mind-control, mindblast, telekinesis, thermokinesis, quantokinesis and 142 more...
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cloudjuice's Words
schadenfreude, sordid, promulgate, erratic, erroneous, amalgamate, sesquipedalian, incongruous, psychosis, etymology, simulacrum, serendipity and 988 more...
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the Island of the Day Before
phoebus, promontory, succor, indite, sickle, cerulean, tenebrous, specter, bastion, clemency, miasma, nocturlabe and 112 more...
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Underworld
Don DeLillo
roily, reverie, slidy, bandido, mohair, brilliantine, stupe, juke step, jowly, juke, wicket, quidbit and 391 more...
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botello360's list
ruminate, steel, bifurcation, arrivederci, portage, tactile, ruminant, rift, anecdotage, diacritic, cud, hull and 399 more...
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New words, not to be confused with th...
maladroit, aphasia, delphinium, bromide, greenhorn, just deserts, loth, supplanted, steeplechase, steeple, annex, vestments and 236 more...
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agsystems's Words
consequence, fragment, poetic, structures, transmutation, glimpse, memory, machine, mnemonic, turbulence, mooching, mooch and 2 more...
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word set10
superstring, nonrepudiation, sandboxed, trojan horse, bandoliers, transmutation, antiauthoritarian, connubiality, flagelliform, appellative, camphoraceous, bollixed and 61 more...
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Jutland's Words
carrel, sadducean, antiphoner, ophidia, demesne, bolus, coronae, patristic, uncial, constantinople, lavender, spoof and 61 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for transmutation.

whichbe In a super power, this would be the ability to transform atoms into different types of atoms. May 15, 2008