contaminate

[ verb kuhn-tam-uh-neyt; noun adjective kuhn-tam-uh-nit, -neyt ]

verb (used with object)

, con·tam·i·nat·ed, con·tam·i·nat·ing.

1. to make impure or unsuitable by contact or mixture with something unclean, bad, etc.:

   to contaminate a lake with sewage.

   Synonyms: corrupt, poison, infect, taint, pollute, defile

2. to render harmful or unusable by adding radioactive material to:

   to contaminate a laboratory.

noun

1. something that contaminates or carries contamination; contaminant.

adjective

1. Obsolete. contaminated.

contaminate

verb

1. to make impure, esp by touching or mixing; pollute
2. to make radioactive by the addition of radioactive material

adjective

1. archaic.
   contaminated

Derived Forms

• conˈtaminative, adjective
• conˈtaminable, adjective
• conˈtamiˌnator, noun
• conˈtaminant, noun

Other Words From

• con·tami·na·ble adjective
• con·tami·native adjective
• con·tami·nator noun
• con·tami·nous adjective
• noncon·tami·na·ble adjective
• noncon·tami·native adjective
• recon·tami·nate verb (used with object) recontaminated recontaminating
• self-con·tami·nating adjective
• uncon·tami·na·ble adjective
• uncon·tami·nated adjective
• uncon·tami·native adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of contaminate¹

1375–1425; late Middle English contaminaten < Latin contāminātus, past participle of contāmināre to defile, spoil, equivalent to con- con- + -tāminare, verbal derivative of *tāmen something touched < *tag-s-men, equivalent to tag-, variant stem of tangere to touch + -s-men resultative noun suffix; examen

Word History and Origins

Origin of contaminate¹

C15: from Latin contamināre to defile; related to Latin contingere to touch

Example Sentences

Female oriental fruit flies contaminate fruit by laying eggs inside it, according to the California Department Food and Agriculture.

From Los Angeles Times

Most instances of E. coli contamination are caused by poor sanitation practices, such as employees not washing their hands, crops being grown too close to farms where animals live and contaminate the soil and runoff with feces, and companies’ failure to properly process and test foods, according to Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog director for the Public Interest Research Group.

From Los Angeles Times

Most instances of E. coli contamination are caused by poor sanitation practices, such as employees not washing their hands, crops being grown too close to farms where animals live and contaminate the soil and runoff with feces, and companies’ failure to properly process and test foods, she said.

From Los Angeles Times

Everything about the war compounds to contaminate the water.

From Slate

After working with farms in Wales and England, he concluded that the pathogen which caused the spread of bTB was present in large quantities in the faeces of cattle which can contaminate food and water for the animals.

From BBC

Related Words

• corrupt
• harm
• infect
• injure
• poison
• pollute
• stain
• taint
• tarnish