mutate

M3U1T1A1T1E1
UK/mjuːˈteɪt/US/ˈmju.teɪt/

verb

To undergo mutation.

“The virus has mutated into a more resilient version.”

OriginLatin mūtō →
UncommonScrabble 8
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Meanings

verbmutate (third-person singular simple present mutates, present participle mutating, simple past and past participle mutated)

present singular third person mutates · participle present mutating · participle past mutated · past mutated

  1. intransitiveTo undergo mutation.

    The virus has mutated into a more resilient version.

  2. transitiveTo cause mutation.

Origin

  1. Latinmūtō“to exchange; to change, to vary”
  2. Englishmutate

First attested in 1796; back-formation from mutation on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix), ultimately from Latin mūtō (“to exchange; to change, to vary”). Doublet of moult.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan mutar, mutar
  • mutarto undergo mutation
  • mutarto cause mutation
Chinese Mandarin 變異 /变异
  • 變異 /变异 (biànyì)to undergo mutation
Dutch muteren
  • muterento undergo mutation
Esperanto mutacii
  • mutaciito undergo mutation
Finnish mutatoitua, mutatoida
  • mutatoituato undergo mutation
  • mutatoidato cause mutation
French muter
  • muterto undergo mutation
German mutieren
  • mutierento undergo mutation
Greek μεταλλάσσομαι
  • μεταλλάσσομαι (metallássomai)to undergo mutation
Italian mutare
  • mutareto undergo mutation
Māori iranoi, whakairanoi
  • iranoito undergo mutation
  • whakairanoito cause mutation
Portuguese mutar
  • mutarto undergo mutation
Romanian suferi mutație
  • suferi mutațieto undergo mutation
Scottish Gaelic mùth
  • mùthto undergo mutation
Spanish mutar, mutar
  • mutarto undergo mutation
  • mutarto cause mutation
Swedish mutera, mutera
  • muterato undergo mutation
  • muterato cause mutation
Tagalog mag-ibanyuhay
  • mag-ibanyuhayto undergo mutation
Thai กลายพันธุ์, ผ่าเหล่า
  • กลายพันธุ์ (glaai-pan)to undergo mutation
  • ผ่าเหล่า (pàa-lào)to undergo mutation
Vietnamese đột biến
  • đột biếnto undergo mutation
Welsh mwtanu, treiglo
  • mwtanuto undergo mutation
  • treigloto undergo mutation
  • mwtanuto cause mutation
  • treigloto cause mutation

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with mutate

datestategreatratecreateupdateweightlatecertificatewaiteightstraightplatechocolatedebatehategatedonateevaluatelocatekatealternatetranslatemate
All rhymes →

Anagrams

Matute
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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