1. To alter something so that it loses qualities regarded as essential to its original character.
2. To change a biological molecule’s structure so that some of its original properties or activity are lost.
3. To treat alcohol so that it is unsuitable for drinking while remaining useful for other purposes.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- denature a tradition
- denature an institution
- denature the human subject
On the page
The critic argues that turning the ritual into a spectacle denatures its communal purpose.
In the novel, bureaucratic categories denature people by reducing their histories to a single label.
The introductory chapter explains why heat can denature a protein without breaking every bond in it.
A denatured protein may no longer perform its usual biological function.
The account distinguishes alcohol denatured for industrial use from alcohol sold as a beverage.
Word forms
- Base
- denature
- Past tense
- denatured
- Past participle
- denatured
- Present participle
- denaturing
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- denature
- Present continuous
- am/is/are denaturing
- Present perfect
- have/has denatured
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been denaturing
- Past
- denatured
- Past continuous
- was/were denaturing
- Past perfect
- had denatured
- Past perfect continuous
- had been denaturing
- Future
- will denature
- Future continuous
- will be denaturing
- Future perfect
- will have denatured
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been denaturing
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Transitive or intransitive: denatures, denatured, denatured, denaturing; future will denature. Denature a substance; a protein denatures. Denature an institution is a figurative critical use. Register: formal. Commonness: uncommon (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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