as in to change
to pass from one form, state, or level to another
colored lights that slowly mutate from green to blue and so on across the color spectrum
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Recent Examples of mutate
Antisemitism is a toxic virus that continues to mutate.
—
Brian Siegal, Sun Sentinel, 22 Jan. 2026
Zhang, of Purdue, studies bioelectrical signaling in zebra fish, which develop striking extra-long tails when a certain ion channel is mutated.
—Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 12 Jan. 2026
However, cases have sharply risen since 2021, likely due to a combination of mutating bacteria and declining rates of vaccination overall, especially among teens getting a booster dose for bacterial meningitis, doctors suggest.
—Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC news, 11 Jan. 2026
The virus infects a wide range of animals and has the ability to mutate rapidly.
—Patrick Jackson, The Conversation, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mutate
Brian Siegal, Sun Sentinel, 22 Jan. 2026
Zhang, of Purdue, studies bioelectrical signaling in zebra fish, which develop striking extra-long tails when a certain ion channel is mutated.
—Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 12 Jan. 2026
However, cases have sharply risen since 2021, likely due to a combination of mutating bacteria and declining rates of vaccination overall, especially among teens getting a booster dose for bacterial meningitis, doctors suggest.
—Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC news, 11 Jan. 2026
The virus infects a wide range of animals and has the ability to mutate rapidly.
—Patrick Jackson, The Conversation, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mutate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mutate
Verb
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The team analyzed 44 elements and found no single universal reaction to space; instead, microbial metabolism changed in distinct, element-specific ways.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Feb. 2026
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At the same time, the context around these measures has changed.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
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While individual risk factors vary, the average risk of developing colorectal cancer over one's lifetime is about 1 in 24 for men and about 1 in 26 for women, per the American Cancer Society.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
12 Feb. 2026
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The flagship campus in Austin admits roughly around 27–30 % of applicants overall, though that number varies significantly between Texas residents and out-of-state applicants.—
Dante Motley,
Austin American Statesman,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Tenuous evidence of mass exodus Sensor Tower’s user data more fundamentally seems to suggest that beyond anecdotal claims, users have largely been unable to identify tangible changes in TikTok’s American operations, or at least, not enough to meaningfully shift user sentiment.—
Matthew Chin,
CNBC,
16 Feb. 2026
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If the robot learns to pick up a bottle in an exact position and the bottle is shifted slightly, a system that only imitates will repeat the original gesture and fail.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mutate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mutate. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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