Synonyms of mutates

mutates

verb

present tense third-person singular of mutate

as in changes

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• changes
• varies
• shifts
• fluctuates
• morphs
• improves
• snaps
• transmutes
• deteriorates
• worsens
• metamorphoses
• vacillates
• turns around
• wavers
• betters
• seesaws
• teeters

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stabilizes
• plateaus

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of mutates

Although flu seasons can vary in disease severity, the virus mutates so unpredictably that pandemic flu seasons – like those in 1918, 1957, 1968 and 2009 – are a recurring possibility. — Katrine L. Wallace, The Conversation, 24 June 2026

Measles mutates slowly enough that researchers can in many cases search for essentially the same strain when tracking its movements. — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2026

This dynamic drives a phenomenon called antigenic shift meaning that the vaccine paradoxically encourages new mutations and can actually prolong pandemics as the virus constantly mutates to escape the protective effects of the vaccine. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 7 Aug. 2025