adj
Meaning 1
Polluted; defiled.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: rare
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
pollute
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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/pəˈluːt/
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/pəˈljuːt/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -uːt
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CMU ARPABET: P AH0 L UW1 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
verb
Meaning 2
To make something harmful, especially by the addition of some unwanted product.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
- The factory polluted the river when it cleaned its tanks.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: contaminate, poison, taint
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 3
To make something or somewhere less suitable for some activity, especially by the introduction of some unnatural factor.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
- The lights from the stadium polluted the night sky, and we couldn't see the stars.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: blight, mar, ruin, ball up, bumble, botch, bugger up, bungle, contaminate, corrupt, crab, deprave, disrupt, disturb, foil, fuck up, jack up, mess 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 4
To corrupt or profane
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: debauch, lead astray, defile, sully, adulterate, corrupt, demoralize, detort, file, immoralize, pervert, pollute, preposterate, seduce, sophisticate, suborn, subvert, tamper, unmoralize, vitiate, warp, desecrate, profanate, profane, profanize, tarnish, violate
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 5
To violate sexually; to debauch; to dishonour.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: abuse, outrage, ravish, constuprate, defile, defoul, dishonour, force, misuse, oppress, pollute, rape, ravage, r-word, scotch, turn out, violate, viole, vitiate, grape
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 6
make impure
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- The industrial wastes polluted the lake
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: foul, contaminate
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: dirty, soil, begrime, grime, colly, bemire
Narrower terms: infect, taint
History
Etymology
From Middle English polluten, borrowed from Latin pollūtum, from pollūtus (“no longer virgin", "unchaste”), perfect passive participle of polluō (“soil", "defile", "dishonor”).
Across languages
Translations
42 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Finnish: saastunut — polluted
- Finnish: pilaantunut — polluted
- French: pollué — polluted
- Portuguese: poluído — polluted
- Albanian: ndot — to make something harmful
- Bulgarian: замърсявам (zamǎrsjavam) — to make something harmful
- Burmese: ညစ်ညမ်း (nyacnyam:) — to make something harmful
- Czech: znečistit — to make something harmful
- Esperanto: polui — to make something harmful
- Finnish: saastuttaa — to make something harmful
- French: polluer — to make something harmful
- German: verschmutzen — to make something harmful
- Gothic: 𐌱𐌹𐍃𐌰𐌿𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (bisauljan) — to make something harmful
- Ancient Greek: μιαίνω (miaínō) — to make something harmful
- Ancient Greek: μολύνω (molúnō) — to make something harmful
- Ido: polutar — to make something harmful
- Irish: éilligh — to make something harmful
- Irish: truailligh — to make something harmful
- Italian: inquinare — to make something harmful
- Latin: inquinō — to make something harmful
- Latin: polluo — to make something harmful
- Marshallese: baijin — to make something harmful
- Middle English: polluten — to make something harmful
- Polish: skazić — to make something harmful
- Polish: zanieczyszczać — to make something harmful
- Polish: zanieczyścić — to make something harmful
- Portuguese: contaminar — to make something harmful
- Portuguese: poluir — to make something harmful
- Russian: загрязня́ть (zagrjaznjátʹ) — to make something harmful
- Russian: загрязни́ть (zagrjaznítʹ) — to make something harmful
- Scottish Gaelic: truaill — to make something harmful
- Slovene: onesnaževati — to make something harmful
- Slovene: onesnažiti — to make something harmful
- Spanish: contaminar — to make something harmful
- Spanish: polucionar — to make something harmful
- Ukrainian: забру́днювати (zabrúdnjuvaty) — to make something harmful
- Ukrainian: забрудни́ти (zabrudnýty) — to make something harmful
- Welsh: llygru — to make something harmful
- French: polluer — to make something or somewhere less suitable
- Portuguese: poluir — to make something or somewhere less suitable
- Portuguese: sujar — to make something or somewhere less suitable
- Scottish Gaelic: truaill — to make something or somewhere less suitable