Definition of: transmutation

(trans′my·tā′shən, tranz′-) noun
1. The act of transmuting.
2. In alchemy, the supposed change of a baser metal into one of greater value, as of lead into gold.
3. Physics The change of one element into another through alteration of its nuclear structure, as in radioactivity or by bombardment with high-energy particles, etc.
4. Biol. Successive change of form; transformism. See synomyms under CHANGE.
—trans′mu·ta′tion·al, trans·mut·a·tive (trans·my′tə·tiv, tranz-) adjective