Standard Lemma guide

chlorinate

verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈklɒ.ɹɪ.neɪt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: K L AO1 R AH0 N EY2 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To add chlorine to (something, especially water, to purify it; or an auriferous substance, to extract gold from it).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

disinfect with chlorine

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • chlorinate a pool

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: disinfect

3

verb

Meaning 3

treat or combine with chlorine

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • chlorinated water

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: process, treat

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵhelh3- Proto-Hellenic *khlōrós Ancient Greek χλωρός (khlōrós) Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Italic *-īnos Latin -īnusder. Old French -inbor. Middle English -in English -ine English chlorine Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh2tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātuslbor. English -ate English chlorinate From chlorine + -ate.

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: كلور (kalwara) — to add chlorine to
  • Belarusian: хларава́ць (xlaravácʹ) — to add chlorine to
  • Catalan: clorar — to add chlorine to
  • Finnish: kloorata — to add chlorine to
  • French: chlorer — to add chlorine to
  • Galician: clorar — to add chlorine to
  • German: chlorieren — to add chlorine to
  • Hungarian: klóroz — to add chlorine to
  • Ido: klorizar — to add chlorine to
  • Italian: clorurare — to add chlorine to
  • Polish: chlorować — to add chlorine to
  • Russian: хлори́ровать (xlorírovatʹ) — to add chlorine to
  • Spanish: clorinar — to add chlorine to
  • Swedish: klorera — to add chlorine to
  • Turkish: klorlamak — to add chlorine to
  • Ukrainian: хлорува́ти (xloruváty) — to add chlorine to