contaminate
verb
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Contaminate, taint, pollute, and defile mean to make impure or unclean. Contaminate implies intrusion of or contact with dirt or foulness from an outside source (logically enough, it derives from the Latin word tangere, meaning "to touch"). Taint stresses a loss of purity or cleanliness that follows contact ("tainted meat"). Pollute, sometimes interchangeable with contaminate, may imply that the process which begins with contamination is complete and that what was pure or clean has been made foul, poisoned, or filthy ("the polluted waters of the river"). Defile implies befouling of what could or should have been kept clean and pure or held sacred, and commonly suggests violation or desecration ("vandals defiled the mausoleum").
Examples of contaminate in a Sentence
Julia Gomez, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025
This follows a string of recent recalls from Costco, some of which have attracted nationwide attention including that of Ahi Tuna Wasabi Poke (ingredients used could have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes) which sold at Costco locations across 37 states.
—Amanda Greenwood, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Critics warn that even partial failures could scatter contaminated debris across wide regions, raising environmental and political concerns.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 27 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, to prevent sickness, Price recommends that people always assume that raw meat and poultry are contaminated with bacteria and to take precautions in the kitchen.
—Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contaminate
Cite this Entry
“Contaminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contaminate. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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contaminate
verb
Medical Definition
contaminate
transitive verb
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