adulterate

(ə-dŭl'tə-rāt')
tr.v., -at·ed, -at·ing, -ates.
To make impure by adding extraneous, improper, or inferior ingredients.

adj. (-tər-ĭt)

1. Spurious; adulterated.
2. Adulterous.

[Latin adulterāre, adulterāt-, to pollute.]

adulteration a·dul'ter·a'tion n.
adulterator a·dul'ter·a'tor n.

SYNONYMS   adulterate, debase, doctor, load. These verbs mean to make impure or inferior by adding foreign substances to something: adulterate coffee with ground acorns; silver debased with copper; doctored the wine with water; rag paper loaded with wood fiber.

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verb

To make impure or inferior by deceptively adding foreign substances: debase, doctor, load, sophisticate. See clean/dirty.

adj

Definition: debased or dirty
Antonyms: clean, moral, virtuous

v

Definition: alter or debase, often, for profit
Antonyms: clarify, clean, cleanse, distill, filter, free, purify, refine

IN BRIEF: To make impure.

The chemist needed to be sure that he didn't have an adulterated mixture.

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Addition of an impure, cheap or unnecessary ingredient to cheat, cheapen or falsify a preparation. Adulteration of ox beef with horsemeat is an example. See also substitution.

For a list of words related to adulterate, see:

• Falsehood, Pretense, and Exaggeration - adulterate: (vb) alter so as to make less pure or less valuable

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See words rhyming with "adulterate."

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - forfalske, blande op, fortynde
adj. - forfalsket, opblandet, fortyndet

Nederlands (Dutch)
degraderen (door toevoegingen), vervalst

Français (French)
v. tr. - falsifier, frelater
adj. - falsifié, frelaté

Deutsch (German)
v. - verunreinigen, panschen
adj. - verfälscht, ehebrüchig

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - νοθεύω, αλλοιώνω

Italiano (Italian)
adulterare, falsificare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - adulterar, falsificar

Русский (Russian)
подмешивать, совершать прелюбодеяние

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - adulterar, falsificar
adj. - adulterado, falsificado

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - tillsätta, späda

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
搀杂, 搀假, 通奸的, 搀杂的, 搀假的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 攙雜, 攙假
adj. - 通姦的, 攙雜的, 攙假的

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 혼합하다, 품질을 낮추다
adj. - 혼합한, 간통의

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 品質を落す, 不純にする

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يغش, مغشوش, زائف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮מהל, פגם‬
adj. - ‮מהול, מזויף‬

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