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Synonyms

contaminate

American  
[kuhn-tam-uh-neyt, kuhn-tam-uh-nit, -neyt] / kənˈtæm əˌneɪt, kənˈtæm ə nɪt, -ˌneɪt /

verb (used with object)

contaminated, contaminating

  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 British  

verb

  1. to make impure, esp by touching or mixing; pollute

  2. to make radioactive by the addition of radioactive material

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. archaic contaminated

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • contaminable adjective
  • contaminant noun
  • contaminative adjective
  • contaminator noun
  • contaminous adjective
  • noncontaminable adjective
  • noncontaminative adjective
  • recontaminate verb (used with object)
  • self-contaminating adjective
  • uncontaminable adjective
  • uncontaminated adjective
  • uncontaminative adjective

Etymology

Origin of contaminate

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The European Medicines Agency has previously warned that these substances could contaminate ecosystems, although detailed information about how much of the drugs enter the environment remains limited.

From Science Daily • Feb. 22, 2026

"We didn't want to bring the water into the practice and then contaminate the pipes or anything like that or our equipment."

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

Some ranchers worry that wastewater might contaminate sources of groundwater and imperil their operations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025

The Japanese auto maker said it would recall more than 126,000 U.S. vehicles, citing concerns that debris from the manufacturing process could contaminate the engine and cause it to stall.

From Barron's • Nov. 13, 2025

Only a few of De Soto’s pigs would have had to wander off to contaminate the forest.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.