transmute
Definitions
To change something completely from one form, substance, or state into another.
使彻底转化；把一种形态、物质或状态变成另一种。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedtrans- (across) + mut (change) = 'change across' a boundary into something wholly new. The classic image is alchemy — transmuting lead into gold. Today it is mostly figurative: turning one thing into a deeply different other thing.
Root mut still carries 6 more wordsWhy It Means This
Transmute carries the flavor of magic. It was the alchemists' central dream — to transmute base metals like lead into gold — and that sense of a total, almost mystical transformation still clings to the word. Because real transmutation is impossible by ordinary means, modern usage is mostly figurative and somewhat literary: a writer transmutes pain into poetry; an athlete transmutes fear into focus.
Common Collocations
- 1.transmute into转化为
- 2.transmute lead into gold点铅成金
- 3.transmute pain into art把痛苦转化为艺术
Example Sentences
- 1.
Alchemists dreamed of transmuting lead into gold.
- 2.
She has a gift for transmuting grief into beautiful music.
- 3.
The crisis transmuted his caution into bold resolve.