pollute

verb

pol·​lute pə-ˈlüt 

polluted; polluting

transitive verb

1

a

: to make ceremonially or morally impure : defile

b

: debase sense 1

using language to deceive or mislead pollutes language

—Linda C. Lederman

2

a

: to make physically impure or unclean : befoul, dirty

b

: to contaminate (an environment) especially with man-made waste

polluter noun

pollutive

pə-ˈlü-tiv 

adjective

Synonyms

• befoul
• contaminate
• defile
• foul
• poison
• taint

Choose the Right Synonym for pollute

contaminate, taint, pollute, defile mean to make impure or unclean.

contaminate implies intrusion of or contact with dirt or foulness from an outside source.

water contaminated by industrial wastes

taint stresses the loss of purity or cleanliness that follows contamination.

tainted meat

a politician's tainted reputation

pollute, sometimes interchangeable with contaminate, distinctively 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.

defile a hero's memory with slanderous innuendo

Examples of pollute in a Sentence

Miles of beaches were polluted by the oil spill.

Car exhaust pollutes the air.

Recent Examples on the Web

If everyone were to stop polluting these orbits, then at least new launches wouldn’t exacerbate the problem. —Ramin Skibba, Rolling Stone, 6 July 2024

Especially after a good rain, the runoff can easily pollute the water, elevating levels of bacteria like E.coli or Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). —Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 July 2024

Functional or not, septic tanks pollute by releasing human-waste effluent into Florida’s sandy soils. —Nicole Kirchhoff, Sun Sentinel, 4 July 2024

Newspapers are dying, websites that filled that void with top-notch journalism have gone away and the outlets that are left still struggle to attract audiences and make a difference as social media and bad-faith cable networks pollute the public discourse. —Michael Schneider, Variety, 18 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin pollutus, past participle of polluere, from por- (akin to Latin per through) + -luere (akin to Latin lutum mud, Greek lyma dirt, defilement) — more at for

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

pollute

verb

pol·​lute pə-ˈlüt 

polluted; polluting

: to make impure

especially : to spoil (as a natural resource) with waste made by humans

industrial wastes polluted the river

Medical Definition

pollute

transitive verb

pol·​lute pə-ˈlüt 

polluted; polluting

1

: to make physically impure or unclean

2

: to contaminate (an environment) especially with man-made waste

polluter noun

pollutive

-ˈlüt-iv 

adjective