transmute
UK [trænz'mju:t] US [træns-] formal
verb intransitive or transitive [usually + adv/prep]
■to change something completely, especially into something different and better 彻底改变（尤指变成更好的他物）•A few centuries ago alchemists thought they could transmute lead into gold.几个世纪以前，炼金术士以为他们能把铅变成金子。 •specialized Plutonium transmutes into/to uranium when it is processed in a nuclear reactor.钸在核反应堆中经过处理就变成了铀。 |