Thesaurus results for TRANSMUTE

Q: How is the word 'transmute' different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of transmute are convert , metamorphose , transfigure , transform , and transmogrify . While all these words mean "to change a thing into a different thing," transmute implies transforming into a higher element or thing. // attempted to transmute lead into gold

Q: When might 'convert' be a better fit than 'transmute'?

Although the words convert and transmute have much in common, convert implies a change fitting something for a new or different use or function. // converted the study into a nursery

Q: When is it sensible to use 'metamorphose' instead of 'transmute'?

The words metamorphose and transmute are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, metamorphose suggests an abrupt or startling change induced by or as if by magic or a supernatural power. // awkward girls metamorphosed into graceful ballerinas

Q: When is 'transfigure' a more appropriate choice than 'transmute'?

The meanings of transfigure and transmute largely overlap; however, transfigure implies a change that exalts or glorifies. // joy transfigured her face

Q: When would 'transform' be a good substitute for 'transmute'?

The words transform and transmute can be used in similar contexts, but transform implies a major change in form, nature, or function. // transformed a small company into a corporate giant

Q: In what contexts can 'transmogrify' take the place of 'transmute'?

While the synonyms transmogrify and transmute are close in meaning, transmogrify suggests a strange or preposterous metamorphosis. // a story in which a frog is transmogrified into a prince

transmute

verb

tran(t)s-ˈmyüt

Definition of transmute next

as in to transform

to change in form, appearance, or use in his elegy on his deceased wife, the poet has transmuted inconsolable grief into high art

Synonyms & Similar Words

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How is the word transmute different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of transmute are convert, metamorphose, transfigure, transform, and transmogrify. While all these words mean "to change a thing into a different thing," transmute implies transforming into a higher element or thing.

attempted to transmute lead into gold

When might convert be a better fit than transmute?

Although the words convert and transmute have much in common, convert implies a change fitting something for a new or different use or function.

converted the study into a nursery

When is it sensible to use metamorphose instead of transmute?

The words metamorphose and transmute are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, metamorphose suggests an abrupt or startling change induced by or as if by magic or a supernatural power.

awkward girls metamorphosed into graceful ballerinas

When is transfigure a more appropriate choice than transmute?

The meanings of transfigure and transmute largely overlap; however, transfigure implies a change that exalts or glorifies.

joy transfigured her face

When would transform be a good substitute for transmute?

The words transform and transmute can be used in similar contexts, but transform implies a major change in form, nature, or function.

transformed a small company into a corporate giant

In what contexts can transmogrify take the place of transmute?

While the synonyms transmogrify and transmute are close in meaning, transmogrify suggests a strange or preposterous metamorphosis.

a story in which a frog is transmogrified into a prince

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of transmute Noah, a 40-something father, travels to his childhood home in Virginia to find that Fax News has transmuted his conservative parents into bloodthirsty creatures, a painful discovery that forces him on a treacherous journey back to the safety of Brooklyn. —

Erik Piepenburg, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025 Face them head-on, and then use the sun’s entrance into Scorpio on the 22nd to transmute pain into power, ideally with the help of your most intimate connections. —

Dossé-Via Trenou, refinery29.com, 27 Sep. 2024 This visceral metamorphosis, which haunts the pages of her memoir Black Milk: On Writing, Motherhood, and the Harem Within (2007; English translation 2011), transmutes nature’s most fundamental symbol of maternal sustenance into a potent metaphor for creative anxiety born of postpartum despair. —

Fidan Cheikosman, JSTOR Daily, 1 Jan. 2025 But Minchin and Alcock are an electric duo, their bristling anti-chemistry transmuting their characters’ respective funks from mostly unwatchable to genuinely compelling. —

Alexis Gunderson, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for transmute