What does demethylate mean?
Demethylate is a technical verb meaning to remove one or more methyl groups — small chemical units consisting of one carbon atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms — from a molecule. The term belongs chiefly to organic chemistry and biochemistry. Chemists may demethylate synthetic compounds as part of a reaction sequence, while biologists use the word most often in the context of epigenetics: specialised enzymes called demethylases strip methyl groups from DNA or from histone proteins, and this removal frequently switches genes on or otherwise alters their activity. Because adding such groups (methylation) often silences genes, demethylation is widely discussed in research on development, ageing, and cancer, where abnormal methylation patterns can suppress protective genes. Related forms include demethylation (the noun for the process), demethylated (an adjective describing molecules from which methyl groups have been removed), and demethylating (as in 'demethylating agents', drugs designed to trigger this reaction). The word derives from 'methyl', itself rooted in the Greek 'methy' relating to wine, combined with the prefix 'de-', indicating removal. Though precise and useful, demethylate remains firmly a term of scientific register rather than general conversation.
verbTo remove one or more methyl groups (–CH₃) from a chemical compound, especially from DNA or other biological molecules.
- (chemistry) To remove one or more methyl groups from a compound by chemical means.
- (biochemistry) To remove methyl groups from DNA, histones, or other biomolecules, typically altering gene expression or molecular activity.
"The enzyme works to demethylate specific regions of the genome, switching previously silenced genes back on."
"Certain drugs can demethylate tumour-suppressor genes that cancer has chemically silenced."
"The laboratory used a reducing agent to demethylate the aromatic compound."
Demethylase enzymes can act like erasers for your DNA — wiping off chemical tags that keep genes switched off.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of demethylate
The verb demethylate is formed from the noun 'methyl' — coined in the mid-19th century from Greek roots ('methy', wine, and 'hyle', wood or matter) when chemists first isolated the group from wood alcohol — combined with the prefix 'de-' (removal) and the verb-forming suffix '-ate'. It emerged alongside the broader vocabulary of organic chemistry as scientists characterised functional groups and their manipulation. Its closest relatives are methylate, methane, and methanol, all built on the same 'methyl' root.
Related word forms
How demethylate is actually used
Strictly technical vocabulary confined to chemistry and biochemistry; it is not used in everyday speech. In molecular biology it most often appears in discussions of epigenetics, where DNA demethylation is associated with gene activation.
Easily confused with demethylate
To methylate is to ADD a methyl group to a molecule, whereas to demethylate is to REMOVE one.