contaminate

(kən-tăm'ə-nāt')
tr.v., -nated, -nat·ing, -nates.

1. To make impure or unclean by contact or mixture.
2. To expose to or permeate with radioactivity.

n. (-nĭt)
One that contaminates; a contaminant.

[Middle English contaminaten, from Latin contāmināre, contāmināt-.]

contaminative con·tam'i·na'tive adj.
contaminator con·tam'i·na'tor n.

SYNONYMS   contaminate, befoul, foul, poison, pollute, taint. These verbs mean to make dirty or impure: Pesticides contaminated the lake. Mud befouled my shoes. Noxious fumes fouled the air. Drugs poisoned her mind. Exhaust polluted the air. Improper storage tainted the food.

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verb

1. To make physically impure: defile, foul, poison, pollute. See clean/dirty.
2. To make morally impure: corrupt, defile, infect, pollute, soil, taint. See clean/dirty.

v

Definition: adulterate
Antonyms: clean, cure, heal, purify, sterilize

See contamination.

v

Made radioactive by the addition of minute quantities of radioactive material.

For a list of words related to contaminated, see:

• Unappealing, Shabby, Messy, Poor, or Clumsy

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See words rhyming with "contaminate."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Contaminate.

Common misspelling(s) of contaminate

• contaiminate

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - forurene, smitte, kontaminere, sammenblande
adj. - forgiftet

Nederlands (Dutch)
vervuilen/besmetten (radioactief)

Français (French)
v. tr. - contaminer
adj. - contaminé

Deutsch (German)
v. - verschmutzen, kontaminieren, verseuchen
adj. - verunreinigt

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - μολύνω, μιαίνω, ρυπαίνω, (μτφ.) διαφθείρω, παραποιώ

Italiano (Italian)
contaminare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - contaminar, corromper

Русский (Russian)
загрязнять, заражать

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - contaminar, contagiar, infectar
adj. - contaminado, contagiado, infectado

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - förorena, smitta ner, kontaminera, besmitta (bildl.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
弄脏, 毒害, 污染, 使受毒气影响, 被污染的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 弄髒, 毒害, 污染, 使受毒氣影響
adj. - 被污染的

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 오염시키다, 타락시키다, 개악하다
adj. - 악에 물든

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 汚す, 汚染する, 悪影響を及ぼす

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) لوث, أفسد, سمم‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮טימא, זיהם‬
adj. - ‮מזוהם, מושחת‬

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