noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈmjuːtəd͡ʒn̩/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:M Y UW1 T AH0 JH EH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Any agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
any agent (physical or environmental) that can induce a genetic mutation or can increase the rate of mutation
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: agent
History
Etymology
Etymology tree English muta- Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh1- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh1os Proto-Hellenic *génos Ancient Greek γένος (génos) Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ēs Ancient Greek -ης (-ēs) Ancient Greek -γενής (-genḗs)lbor. French -gènebor. English -gen English mutagen From muta- + -gen.
Across languages
Translations
36 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
مُطَفِّر
(muṭaffir)
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Azerbaijani:
mutagen
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Bulgarian:
мутаген
(mutagen)
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Chinese Mandarin:
突變原 /突变原
(tūbiànyuán)
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Chinese Mandarin:
誘變劑 /诱变剂
(yòubiànjì)
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Czech:
mutagen
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Danish:
mutagen
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Dutch:
mutageen
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Estonian:
mutageen
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Finnish:
mutageeni
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
French:
mutagène
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
German:
Mutagen
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Greek:
μεταλλαξιογόνο
(metallaxiogóno)
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Greek:
μεταλλαξιγόνο
(metallaxigóno)
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Indonesian:
mutagen
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Italian:
mutageno
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Japanese:
変異原性
(hen'irasei)
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Kazakh:
мутагендер
(mutagender)
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Malay:
mutagen
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Māori:
matū whakakē ira
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Persian:
جهشزا
(jahešzā)
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Polish:
mutagen
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Portuguese:
mutagênico
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Portuguese:
mutagénico
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Portuguese:
agente mutagênico
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Portuguese:
agente mutagénico
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Portuguese:
mutágeno
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Russian:
мутаге́н
(mutagén)
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Serbo-Croatian:
mutagen
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Slovak:
mutagén
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Slovene:
mutagen
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Spanish:
mutágeno
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Swedish:
mutagen
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Turkish:
mutajen
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Ukrainian:
мутаге́н
(mutahén)
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation
Ukrainian:
мутаґе́н
(mutagén)
— agent or substance that can cause genetic mutation