transmute
verb
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Transmutation changes something over into something else. Thus, a writer may transmute his life into stories or novels, and an arranger might transmute a lively march tune into a quiet lullaby. In the "Myth of Er" at the end of Plato's Republic, for example, human souls are transmuted into the body and existence of their choice. Having learned from their last life what they do not want to be, many choose transmutation into something that seems better. A meek man chooses to be transmuted into a tyrant, a farmer into a dashing (but short-lived) warrior, and so on. But very few seem to have learned anything from their former life that would make their choice a real improvement.
Synonyms
Examples of transmute in a Sentence
Ina Fried, Axios, 4 Nov. 2024
Louis and Benson make the smart choice of establishing her as an officious queen bee, a lead sorority-sister type among her PKGs, an intensity that transmutes clearly into a vengeful streak once Dawn discovers and later embraces her powers.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2024
In the evening, the lights go down, and that communal coffee-shop energy transmutes into something a little sexier.
—Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2024
But the other half of it is then learning to what extent that perception has served its purpose and needs to be transmuted elsewhere.
—Garrett Bradley, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for transmute 
Dictionary Entries Near transmute
Cite this Entry
“Transmute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transmute. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
transmute
verb
Legal Definition
transmute
transitive verb
In re Siddens, 588 N.E.2d 321 (1992)
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