methylation

M3E1T1H4Y4L1A1T1I1O1N1
/ˌmɛθɪˈleɪʃən/

noun

The addition of a methyl group to a molecule.

OriginEnglish methyl ← German Methy ← Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē) →
Less commonScrabble 19
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Meanings

nounmethylation (countable and uncountable, plural methylations)

plural methylations

  1. countableuncountablechemistryThe addition of a methyl group to a molecule.
  2. countableuncountablebiologyThe addition of a methyl group to cytosine and adenine residues in DNA that leads to the epigenetic modification of DNA and the reduction of gene expression and protein production.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*médʰu
  2. Proto-Hellenic*métʰu
  3. Ancient Greekμέθυ (méthu)
  4. Proto-Indo-European*swel-der.?
  5. Ancient Greekῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)
  6. GermanMethy
  7. Englishmethyl
  8. Englishmethylation

From methyl + -ation.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan metilació
  • metilacióaddition of a methyl group
Chinese Mandarin 甲基化
  • 甲基化 (jiǎjīhuà)addition of a methyl group
Finnish metylaatio
  • metylaatioaddition of a methyl group
French méthylation
  • méthylationaddition of a methyl group
German Methylierung
  • Methylierungaddition of a methyl group
Hebrew מתילציה
  • מתילציהaddition of a methyl group
Indonesian metilasi
  • metilasiaddition of a methyl group
Italian metilazione
  • metilazioneaddition of a methyl group
Japanese メチル化
  • メチル化 (mechiruka)addition of a methyl group
Korean 메틸화
  • 메틸화 (metilhwa)addition of a methyl group
Malay pemetilan
  • pemetilanaddition of a methyl group
Polish metylacja
  • metylacjaaddition of a methyl group
Portuguese metilação
  • metilaçãoaddition of a methyl group
Russian метилирование
  • метилирование (metilirovanije)addition of a methyl group
Spanish metilación
  • metilaciónaddition of a methyl group
Urdu میثائلیت
  • میثائلیتaddition of a methyl group

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with methylation

informationeducationlocationapplicationassociationadministrationorganizationcorporationregistrationAsianfoundationcommunicationpopulationnavigationstationaccommodationoperationpublicationvacationtransportationevaluationimplementationinstallationnation
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

methylation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/methylation

MLA

“methylation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/methylation. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “methylation,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/methylation.

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