contaminate
verb
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Contaminate, taint, pollute, and defile mean to make impure or unclean. Contaminate implies intrusion of or contact with dirt or foulness from an outside source (logically enough, it derives from the Latin word tangere, meaning "to touch"). Taint stresses a loss of purity or cleanliness that follows contact ("tainted meat"). Pollute, sometimes interchangeable with contaminate, may imply that the process which begins with contamination is complete and that what was pure or clean has been made foul, poisoned, or filthy ("the polluted waters of the river"). Defile implies befouling of what could or should have been kept clean and pure or held sacred, and commonly suggests violation or desecration ("vandals defiled the mausoleum").
Examples of contaminate in a Sentence
Matthew Robinson, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 July 2025
Floodwaters can be contaminated with debris, as well as high levels of bacteria, chemicals, waste and other pollutants, which can cause prolonged health risks, the experts said.
—Bymary Kekatos, ABC News, 11 July 2025
Crews have removed more than 2.5 million tons of ash, debris, metal, concrete and contaminated soil.
—Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2025
Shelf-life: Once opened, coconut water doesn't keep its nutritional benefits for long and can quickly become contaminated by bacteria.1 Check the product label to determine if your coconut water needs refrigeration and when to throw it out.
—Megan Nunn, Verywell Health, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for contaminate
Cite this Entry
“Contaminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contaminate. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.
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contaminate
verb
Medical Definition
contaminate
transitive verb
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