as in to pollute
to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable
a supply of drinking water that was contaminated by a toxic waste dump
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Recent Examples of contaminate
Petroleum and contaminated wastewater are returned to the surface.
—
Lisa McKenzie, The Conversation, 17 July 2025
Malibu’s scenic beaches, now contaminated with heavy metals and debris from the wildfire, usually attract customers to Roxanne Jensen’s souvenir shop, Blue Malibu, located a few doors down from Malibu Divers.
—Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2025
The problem with the scenario, however, is that lead, asbestos and contaminated water and soil must be removed and more testing is needed to determine the full extent of remediation, according to village documents.
—Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 11 July 2025
United Natural Foods, Inc., based in Rhode Island, announced the voluntary recall for the products on June 7 after they were possibly contaminated with fluid from a reach truck.
—Matthew Robinson, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for contaminate
Lisa McKenzie, The Conversation, 17 July 2025
Malibu’s scenic beaches, now contaminated with heavy metals and debris from the wildfire, usually attract customers to Roxanne Jensen’s souvenir shop, Blue Malibu, located a few doors down from Malibu Divers.
—Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2025
The problem with the scenario, however, is that lead, asbestos and contaminated water and soil must be removed and more testing is needed to determine the full extent of remediation, according to village documents.
—Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 11 July 2025
United Natural Foods, Inc., based in Rhode Island, announced the voluntary recall for the products on June 7 after they were possibly contaminated with fluid from a reach truck.
—Matthew Robinson, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for contaminate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contaminate
Verb
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If contaminated floodwater is swallowed, or pollutes drinking water, this can lead to gastrointestinal illnesses such as stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.—
ByMary Kekatos,
ABC News,
11 July 2025
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For decades, biologists have studied how cities affect wildlife by altering food supplies, fragmenting habitats and polluting the environment.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 July 2025
Verb
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The health secretary said vegetable oils, like canola and soybean, are poisoning Americans and driving the obesity epidemic.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
8 July 2025
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After a week of deliberation, the jury found Erin Patterson lured her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, to lunch at her home and poisoned them with individual servings of Beef Wellington that contained death cap mushrooms.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
7 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Contaminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contaminate. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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