<B>Mut, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an ancient Egyptian goddess of the sky, the wife of Amon-Re, and mother of the gods. </DL>
<A NAME="mutability">
<B>mutability, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>mutable condition or quality; tendency or ability to change. <BR> <I>Ex. Wherefore this lower world who can deny But to be subject still to Mutability? (Edmund Spenser).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>changeableness of mind, disposition, or will; fickleness. <BR> <I>Ex. The mayor's mutability in a political crisis made him a difficult man to predict.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="mutable">
<B>mutable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>liable to change or capable of change. <BR> <I>Ex. mutable customs.</I> (SYN) changeable, variable. <DD><B> 2. </B>changing; inconstant; fickle. <BR> <I>Ex. a mutable person. Nature is a mutable cloud ... and never the same (Emerson).</I> noun <B>mutableness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="mutably">
<B>mutably, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in a mutable manner; changeably. </DL>
<A NAME="mutagen">
<B>mutagen, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an agent that induces or causes mutation in an organism. <BR> <I>Ex. Both chemical mutagens and radiations act in an unspecific, random way on chromosomes and genes (Laurence H. Snyder).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="mutagenesis">
<B>mutagenesis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the developmental process leading to mutation in an organism. </DL>
<A NAME="mutagenic">
<B>mutagenic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of, having to do with, or characteristic of a mutagen. <BR> <I>Ex. mutagenic radiation, a mutagenic level, mutagenic action.</I> adv. <B>mutagenically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="mutagenicity">
<B>mutagenicity, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the inducement of mutations; the use of mutagens. <BR> <I>Ex. Chemical mutagenicity promises to become a boiling issue ... with controversies already having erupted over cyclamates, pesticides, LSD, and many other substances (Science News).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="mutagenize">
<B>mutagenize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to induce mutation in. <BR> <I>Ex. Their approach was systematically to make individual tests on each of several hundreds of colonies from a heavily mutagenized stock of E. coli. This technique had already been successfully used to locate a mutant of E. coli lacking a ribonuclease activity (Science Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="mutant">
<B>mutant, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a new genetic character or variety of animal or plant resulting from mutation. <DD><I>adj. </I> that is the result of mutation. <BR> <I>Ex. a mutant species.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="mutarotation">
<B>mutarotation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Chemistry.) a gradual change of optical rotation taking place in freshly prepared solutions of reducing sugars. </DL>
<A NAME="mutase">
<B>mutase, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an enzyme that is supposed to promote the simultaneous oxidation and reduction of a compound. <DD><B> 2. </B>an enzyme that promotes the rearrangement of molecules in a substance. </DL>
<A NAME="mutate">
<B>mutate, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb, <B>-tated,</B> <B>-tating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to change. <BR> <I>Ex. Sweet peas mutate from petal pink to coral (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to undergo or produce mutation. <BR> <I>Ex. Farm animals will be mutated to produce more and better meats and dairy foods (Science News Letter).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Phonetics.) to change or be changed by umlaut. </DL>
<A NAME="mutation">
<B>mutation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act or process of changing; change; alteration. <BR> <I>Ex. The past is exempt from mutation (Charles Brockden Brown).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a change within a gene or chromosome of animals or plants resulting in a new feature or character that appears suddenly and can be inherited. <BR> <I>Ex. Most mutations cause harmful effects, such as the reduction in the size of wings on a fly (J. Herbert Taylor). Many so-called gene mutations may actually be ultramicroscopic changes in chromosome structure (The Effects of Atomic Weapons).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a new genetic character or new variety of plant or animal formed in this way; mutant. <BR> <I>Ex. It is claimed that the first of the small African violets came as mutations (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Phonetics.) umlaut (def. 1). <BR> <I>Ex. Thus "man, men; woman, women;" ... show mutation, ... effected by an "i" or "j" in the succeeding syllable in Common Germanic (Simeon Potter).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="mutational">
<B>mutational, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with biological mutation. <BR> <I>Ex. Through a number of mutational steps, ... it has been possible to obtain a thousand-fold increase in penicillin yield (Bulletin of Atomic Scientists).</I> adv. <B>mutationally.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="mutationist">
<B>mutationist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Biology.) a person who emphasizes the importance of mutation as a factor in producing new and supposedly higher forms or species. </DL>
<A NAME="mutationmink">
<B>mutation mink,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a mink in captivity having fur of a color not found among wild minks, especially a shade from white to pale silver, arrived at by selective breeding. <DD><B> 2. </B>the fur of such a mink. </DL>
<A NAME="mutatismutandis">
<B>mutatis mutandis,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Latin.) with the necessary changes. <BR> <I>Ex. What would St. Francis have said to the beggar who ... wanted to get to the Assisian equivalent of Wall Street? Mutatis mutandis, what would Robert Owen have said? Or Lenin? (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="mutative">
<B>mutative, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with mutation; marked by change. </DL>
<A NAME="mutatonomine">
<B>mutato nomine,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Latin.) with the name changed. </DL>
<A NAME="mutatorgene">
<B>mutator gene,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a gene that, if defective, can cause cancer by allowing mutations to accumulate in a person's DNA. <BR> <I>Ex. The extensive research on bacteria and yeast ... that showed how mutator genes work (Gina Kolata).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="mutch">
<B>mutch, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Scottish.) a cap or coif, usually of linen, worn by women and young children. <BR> <I>Ex. an old granny in a woolen mutch (Robert Louis Stevenson).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="mutchkin">
<B>mutchkin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a Scottish unit of liquid measure, equal to a little less than a U.S. legal pint. </DL>
<A NAME="mute">
<B>mute, </B>adjective, noun, verb, <B>muted,</B> <B>muting.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>not making any sound; silent. <BR> <I>Ex. The little girl stood mute with embarrassment. Mute did the minstrels stand To hear my story (Longfellow). Mute was the room--mute the house (Charlotte Bronte).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>unable to speak; dumb. <DD><B> 3. </B>not pronounced; silent. <BR> <I>Ex. The "e" in "mute" is mute.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Phonetics.) articulated as a stop; produced by the complete momentary closure of the air passage. <BR> <I>Ex. The "p" in "hop" and "play" is a mute consonant.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>without speech or sound. <BR> <I>Ex. a mute refusal of an offer, mute astonishment.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>(Law.) (of a prisoner) making no response when arraigned. <BR> <I>Ex. to stand mute.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a person who cannot speak, usually because of deafness or loss of or damage to the tongue or vocal cords. <DD><B> 2. </B>a clip or pad put on a musical instrument to soften, deaden, or muffle sound. <DD><B> 3. </B>a silent letter. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Phonetics.) a stop; mute consonant. <DD><B> 5. </B>an actor who plays pantomime. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Law.) a prisoner who fails to plead to an indictment. <DD><B> 7. </B>(Archaic.) a hired attendant at a funeral. <BR> <I>Ex. I saw the coffin, and the mutes, and the mourners (John Galt).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to deaden or soften the sound of (a tone, voice, or musical instrument) with or as if with a mute. <BR> <I>Ex. He muted the strings of his violin.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to soften or subdue (a color); tone down. <DD><B> 3. </B>to keep silent; suppress. <BR> <I>Ex. He does not mute his own opinionatedness and egotism (Punch).</I> adv. <B>mutely.</B> noun <B>muteness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="muted">
<B>muted, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>mute; silent. <BR> <I>Ex. They are frightened ... and prefer their politicians to be as bland and muted as possible (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(of musical instruments) played with a mute. adv. <B>mutedly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="muteswan">
<B>mute swan,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a common white swan of Europe and Asia that makes only hissing and snorting sounds. </DL>
<A NAME="muticous">
<B>muticous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Biology.) without awns or spines; awnless; spineless. </DL>
<A NAME="mutilate">
<B>mutilate, </B>verb, <B>-lated,</B> <B>-lating,</B> adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to cut, tear, or break off a limb or other important part of; injure seriously by cutting, tearing, or breaking off some part. <BR> <I>Ex. The victims of the accident were all mutilated.</I> (SYN) maim, mangle, disfigure. <DD><B> 2. </B>to make (a book, story, song, film, or the like) imperfect by removing a part or parts. <BR> <I>Ex. Lay authorities had "mutilated" the text of the pastoral letter he issued (New York Times).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>(Biology.) without some organ or part, or having it only in an undeveloped or modified form. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Poetic.) mutilated. </DL>
<A NAME="mutilation">
<B>mutilation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the action of mutilating. <DD><B> 2. </B>the condition of being mutilated. <BR> <I>Ex. Many ... were also sentenced to mutilation ... the hangman of Edinburgh cut off the ears of thirty-five prisoners (Macaulay).</I> </DL>
