as in to clean
to remove dirty or dangerous substances (such as radioactive material) from (a person, thing, place, etc.)
Special workers were called in to decontaminate the area after the oil spill.
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Recent Examples of decontaminate
Some residents are allowed to visit their homes but can’t move back there while thousands of workers remove topsoil, branches, and other materials to decontaminate these areas.
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Amanda Kennell, Discover Magazine, 19 Oct. 2024
Toby and Will have to work out their issues, CJ lays some hard truths on Donna, and Leo and Abbey have a frank discussion while Bartlet, Debbie, and Charlie are decontaminated.
—Matthew Jackson, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2024
On a hot summer day in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, dozens of men removed pipes, asbestos and hazardous waste while working to decontaminate a nuclear facility and prepare it for demolition.
—Cathy Bussewitz, The Denver Post, 7 Sep. 2024
The investigation comes a week after Beijing News reported that companies where using tankers to transport fuel and cooking oil without properly decontaminating the tankers between trips in order to save money.
—Bruce Gil, Quartz, 11 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for decontaminate 
Amanda Kennell, Discover Magazine, 19 Oct. 2024
Toby and Will have to work out their issues, CJ lays some hard truths on Donna, and Leo and Abbey have a frank discussion while Bartlet, Debbie, and Charlie are decontaminated.
—Matthew Jackson, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2024
On a hot summer day in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, dozens of men removed pipes, asbestos and hazardous waste while working to decontaminate a nuclear facility and prepare it for demolition.
—Cathy Bussewitz, The Denver Post, 7 Sep. 2024
The investigation comes a week after Beijing News reported that companies where using tankers to transport fuel and cooking oil without properly decontaminating the tankers between trips in order to save money.
—Bruce Gil, Quartz, 11 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for decontaminate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decontaminate
Verb
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When Jorgenson moved out of the home, a cleaning crew filmed the property and noted that the bedroom carpet had been removed and there was a large stain on the wooden floorboards, court records show.Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 6 Jan. 2025
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Look through your connections and spring clean your account.Jodie Cook, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
Verb
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They’re crafted from a smooth faux leather that looks like the real thing and easily wipes clean.Megan Schaltegger, Travel + Leisure, 14 Jan. 2025
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The sudden closure of a mine can, within years, begin to wipe a community off the map.Tim Freeman, The Conversation, 13 Jan. 2025
Verb
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To purge their body of nitrogen, an astronaut needs to breathe pure oxygen for a few hours, both before and after donning a spacesuit.Regina Kim, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
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My Bitdefender contact explained that the clean bill of health in the dashboard refers to the fact that my personal data was already purged from data brokers during my reviews of other similar products.PCMAG, PCMAG, 7 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Santa Ana winds are dry, powerful winds that sweep across Southern California from inland deserts to the coast.Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 7 Jan. 2025
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Less than 24 hours after the Hamas massacre, anti-Israel demonstrations and support for Hamas swept across America and college campuses.Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 6 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near decontaminate
Cite this Entry
“Decontaminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decontaminate. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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