mutate

verb

mu·tate | \ ˈmyü-ˌtāt

, myü-ˈ

mutated; mutating

Definition of mutate

intransitive verb

: to undergo mutation

transitive verb

: to cause to undergo mutation

Other Words from mutate Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about mutate

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Synonyms & Antonyms for mutate

Synonyms

change, fluctuate, shift, snap, vary

Antonyms

plateau, stabilize

Examples of mutate in a Sentence

a disease that mutates genes in humans a group of mutated genes Over time, her feelings mutated from hatred into love. opera singers mutating into pop stars

Recent Examples on the Web

The cancer is now present worldwide, still carrying the genome, much mutated but still identifiable, of that original host dog. — James Gorman, New York Times, "The Lost Dogs of the Americas," 5 July 2018 After researchers identify the strains likely to cause the most trouble each year, viruses can mutate, and strains that researchers didn't anticipate can become prevalent. — Macaela Mackenzie, Allure, "The 2019 Flu Season May Be as Deadly as 2018's — Here's How to Prepare Yourself," 3 Oct. 2018 But the Mexican election reflects the constantly mutating ways social media can be weaponized against democracy — and the immensity of Facebook's global challenge. — chicagotribune.com, "Facebook's battle against fake news reaches Mexico ahead of July 1 election," 23 June 2018 The problem is, OPV uses a live, weakened form of the poliovirus to confer immunity, and on extremely rare occasions, that virus can mutate and actually cause the disease. — Time, "How Nigeria's Start-Stop Immunization Battle Is Winning the War to Eradicate Polio in Africa," 5 May 2018 Flu viruses readily mutate, so the strains contained in vaccines may not precisely match circulating viruses, reducing the effectiveness of the immunization. — Jo Craven Mcginty, WSJ, "Six Feet, 48 Hours, 10 Days: How to Avoid Flu," 4 Jan. 2019 Just like our other DNA, our mitochondrial DNA can mutate, leading to the production of faulty proteins. — Radhika Viswanathan, Vox, "3 biological parents, 1 child, and an international controversy," 24 July 2018 One of the key genes for vitamin C synthesis was mutated beyond repair in one of our distant ancestors. — Nathan H. Lents, WSJ, "The Botch of the Human Body," 13 Apr. 2018 Another scientist, Roger Tsien, who died in 2016, expanded the palette, finding that mutating the GFP gene could create different colors and brighten the glow. — Harrison Smith, The Seattle Times, "Osamu Shimomura, atomic blast survivor and Nobel-winning chemist, dies at 90," 23 Oct. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mutate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.