transmutation
noun
Simple meaning
The conversion of one thing into something else.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
transmyootayshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
tɹænsmjuˈteɪʃən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The conversion of one thing into something else; transformation.
physics
The change of one chemical element into another (as by nuclear decay or radioactive bombardment)
“The transmutation of base metals into gold proved to be impossible.”
nuclear physics
The actual transformation of one element into another by a nuclear reaction.
alchemy
The supposed transformation of one element into another, especially of a base metal into gold.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The conversion of one thing into something else; transformation.
Used this way, transmutation is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use transmutation
- “The transmutation of base metals into gold proved to be impossible.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.