Ma'anar ƙamus na kalmar "deaminate" ita ce cire ƙungiyar amino (-NH2) daga mahaɗin kwayoyin halitta, musamman amino acid. Wannan tsari sau da yawa yana haifar da enzymes da ake kira deaminases, kuma yana haifar da samuwar wani sabon fili wanda ba ya ƙunshi rukunin amino. Deamination wani tsari ne na rayuwa na yau da kullun wanda ke faruwa a cikin kyallen takarda da gabobin jiki daban-daban, kuma yana taka muhimmiyar rawa wajen rushewar sunadaran da sauran mahadi masu ɗauke da nitrogen.