denature

Definition

To take away a natural characteristic or inherent property of (a thing or a person).

Etymology

From French dénaturer.

Example Sentences

• "While you cannot drink denatured alcohol, you can still use it to remove sticker glue from most surfaces."
• "Sugars are wonderfully robust materials! Unlike proteins that easily denature and coagulate, unlike fats that are damaged by air and heat and go rancid, unlike starch chains that break apart into smaller chains of glucose molecules, sugars themselves are small and stable molecules."
• "Because the activity of an enzyme depends on its structure, any change in that structure will destroy its effectiveness. So cooking foods sufficiently will denature and inactivate any enzymes they may contain."