adj
Meaning 1
Contaminated.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
contaminate
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.
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Received-Pronunciation: /kənˈtæmɪneɪt/
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Canada, General-American: /kənˈtæmɪneɪt/
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Canada, General-American: [kənˈtɛəm.ɪ.neɪt] /æ/ raising
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California: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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New-Jersey: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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Australian: /kənˈtæmɪnæɪt/
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New-Zealand: /kənˈtɛmənæɪt/
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CMU ARPABET: K AH0 N T AE1 M AH0 N EY2 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adj
Meaning 2
Dirty, sinful, wicked, gross, etc.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively, obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 3
To make something dangerous or toxic by introducing impurities or foreign matter.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
- This water is contaminated. It isn't safe to drink.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: poison, pollute, taint
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 4
To soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: defile, pollute, sully, assoil, beclart, bedaub, bedirty, imbrue (especially with blood), bedizen, befile, befilth, befoul, begrime, beray, beshit, besmear, besmirch, besully, bewray, blacken, blot, blur, clat, contaminate, darken, dirten, dirty, elt, file, foil, foul, gunk, gunk up, inquinate, scunge, sling mud, slotter, slur, smear, smirch, smudge, smut, smutch, soil, soss, sowl, spot, stain, sullow, tarnish, uggle, adulterate, corrupt, debauch, demoralize, detort, immoralize, lead astray, pervert, preposterate, seduce, sophisticate, suborn, subvert, tamper, unmoralize, vitiate, warp
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 5
To make unfit for use by the introduction of unwholesome or undesirable elements.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
- Do not contaminate the peanut butter with the jelly.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: mar, mess up, ruin, ball up, blight, bumble, botch, bugger up, bungle, contaminate, corrupt, crab, deprave, disrupt, disturb, foil, fuck up, jack up, mishandle, mommick, pollute, put a crimp in, queer, screw up, soil, sour, spoil, stain, undo, upset, turn upside down, upset the applecart, vitiate
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 6
To infect, usually of a deadly virus.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: disease, leper
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 7
make impure
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- The industrial wastes polluted the lake
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: pollute, foul
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: dirty, soil, begrime, grime, colly, bemire
Narrower terms: infect, taint
verb
Meaning 8
make radioactive by adding radioactive material
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- Don't drink the water--it's contaminated
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: decontaminate
Broader terms: change, alter, modify
History
Etymology
First attested in the early 15th century, in Middle English; from Middle English contaminat(e) (“sullied, defiled; infected with desease”, also used as the past participle of contaminaten), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more. Participial usage up until Early Modern English.
First attested in the early 15th century, in Middle English; from Middle English contaminaten (“to defile; to infect with desease”), from contaminat(e) (“sullied, defiled; infected with desease”, also used as the past participle of contaminaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), from Latin contāminātus, the perfect passive participle of contāminō (“to touch together, blend, mingle, corrupt, defile”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), which see for further informations. More at taste, tax, and taxi.
Across languages
Translations
35 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: замърсявам (zamǎrsjavam) — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Bulgarian: извършвам зловредно вмешателство (izvǎršvam zlovredno vmešatelstvo) — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Catalan: contaminar — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Cherokee: ᎧᏁᏌᏢᏍᎦ (kanesatlvsga) — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Czech: znečistit — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Czech: kontaminovat — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Danish: forurene — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Danish: kontaminere — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Esperanto: kontaĝi — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Finnish: saastuttaa — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Finnish: pilata — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- French: contaminer — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- French: salir — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Galician: contaminar — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- German: verunreinigen — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- German: verseuchen — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- German: kontaminieren — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Ancient Greek: μιαίνω (miaínō) — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Ancient Greek: μολύνω (molúnō) — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Irish: truailligh — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Italian: contaminare — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Latin: contāminō — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Lithuanian: užteršti — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Māori: whakananu — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Māori: whakaparu — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Māori: tāhawahawa — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Norwegian Bokmål: kontaminere — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Polish: zatruwać — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Polish: skazić — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Portuguese: contaminar — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Russian: загрязня́ть (zagrjaznjátʹ) — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Russian: загрязни́ть (zagrjaznítʹ) — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Scottish Gaelic: truaill — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Swedish: kontaminera — To introduce impurities or foreign matter
- Turkish: kirletmek — To introduce impurities or foreign matter