demethylation

D2E1M3E1T1H4Y4L1A1T1I1O1N1

noun

The removal of one or more methyl groups from a molecule.

Opposite
methylation
OriginEnglish methylation ← German Methy ← Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē) →
UncommonScrabble 22
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

noundemethylation (plural demethylations)

plural demethylations

  1. biochemistryThe removal of one or more methyl groups from a molecule.

    That imprinted genes escape demethylation is, we now know, all that stood between science and the cloning of mammals for many years.

    1999, Matt Ridley, Genome, Harper Perennial, published 2004, page 212

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
methylation

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*de
  2. Proto-Indo-European*déh₁
  3. Proto-Italic*dē
  4. Latindē
  5. Latindē-
  6. Englishde-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*médʰu
  8. Proto-Hellenic*métʰu
  9. Ancient Greekμέθυ (méthu)
  10. Proto-Indo-European*swel-der.?
  11. Ancient Greekῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)
  12. GermanMethy
  13. Englishmethyl
  14. Englishmethylation
  15. Englishdemethylation

From de- + methylation.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 去甲基化, 脫甲基化 /脱甲基化
  • 去甲基化 (qù jiǎjī huà)removal of one or more methyl groups
  • 脫甲基化 /脱甲基化 (tuōjiǎjīhuà)removal of one or more methyl groups
Indonesian demetilasi
  • demetilasiremoval of one or more methyl groups
Malay penyahmetilan
  • penyahmetilanremoval of one or more methyl groups
Spanish desmetilación
  • desmetilaciónremoval of one or more methyl groups
Cite this entry
APA

demethylation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/demethylation

MLA

“demethylation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/demethylation. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “demethylation,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/demethylation.

Source: demethylation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.