transubstantiate

verb

tran·​sub·​stan·​ti·​ate ˌtran(t)-səb-ˈstan(t)-shē-ˌāt 

transubstantiated; transubstantiating

transitive verb

1

: to effect transubstantiation in (sacramental bread and wine)

2

: to change into another substance : transmute

intransitive verb

: to undergo transubstantiation

Synonyms

• alchemize
• convert
• make over
• metamorphose
• transfigure
• transform
• transmute
• transpose

Example Sentences

the novelist transubstantiated the joys and sorrows of his early years into a charming fable about childhood

Recent Examples on the Web

But his concerns are the same as artists 500 years gone — how bodies can be transubstantiated into precious metal, and take on new meaning and value. —New York Times, 13 Feb. 2020

Our fathers poured the gold like priests / transubstantiating molten for the world’s architecture. —Patrick T. Reardon, chicagotribune.com, 14 Nov. 2019

Through football, a one-hour spectacle of peak human performance and perfect pageantry is transubstantiated in real time into the country’s sustaining mythology. —Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 11 Aug. 2017

And then there was Evie, the most beloved, who had transubstantiated into a postcard from Reno. —Sherman Alexie, The New Yorker, 5 June 2017

Word History

Etymology

Middle English transsubstanciaten, from Medieval Latin transubstantiatus, past participle of transubstantiare, from Latin trans- + substantia substance

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1