Transmute \Trans*mute"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Transmuted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Transmuting}.] [L. transmutare, transmutatum; trans across + mutare to change. See {Mutable}, and cf. {Transmew}.] To change from one nature, form, or substance, into another; to transform. The caresses of parents and the blandishments of friends transmute us into idols. --Buckminster. Transmuting sorrow into golden joy Free from alloy. --H. Smith.