1
as in dilute
containing foreign or lower-grade substances
the pharmacist was convicted of selling adulterate drugs in order to maximize profits
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in adulterous
relating to or being a sexual encounter or relationship between a married person and someone other than their spouse
caught red-handed in what he claimed was his first adulterate encounter
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to dilute
to alter (something) for the worse with the addition of foreign or lower-grade substances
the company was fined for adulterating its "all beef" frankfurters with cereal
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of adulterate
Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
Real Madrid chief Florentino Perez was dead against the idea, with his club arguing that breaking the traditional home and away format adulterated the competition, while also expressing concern over participating teams gaining a financial advantage.
—Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Regulation made highly pure spirits a sustainable reality: whiskey often sold straight from the barrel was adulterated by unscrupulous merchants with cheap spirits or toxic substances.
—Jahan Marcu, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2025
Food and/or ice adulterated or contaminated.
—Gege Reed, Louisville Courier Journal, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for adulterate
Verb
Fruits, leafy greens and other produce can become adulterated with listeria through fecal contamination, which can occur through wastewater, water in the growing area, fertilizer and the proximity of said growing area to livestock, USA TODAY previously reported.
—Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
Real Madrid chief Florentino Perez was dead against the idea, with his club arguing that breaking the traditional home and away format adulterated the competition, while also expressing concern over participating teams gaining a financial advantage.
—Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Regulation made highly pure spirits a sustainable reality: whiskey often sold straight from the barrel was adulterated by unscrupulous merchants with cheap spirits or toxic substances.
—Jahan Marcu, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2025
Food and/or ice adulterated or contaminated.
—Gege Reed, Louisville Courier Journal, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for adulterate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adulterate
Adjective
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Second, a dilute hydrochloric acid is used to dissolve the remaining lithium and the transition metals—nickel, cobalt, and manganese.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Oct. 2025
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For example, Wilson’s team is exploring whether dilute acids speed up weathering.—
Robert F. Service,
Science | AAAS,
3 Sep. 2020
Adjective
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But the gamesmanship, foreshadowing the adulterous antics of Harold Pinter’s plays, escalates perilously.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
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The unapologetically lurid tale of two families locked in an ever-complex cat’s cradle of class resentments and adulterous power plays also swarms with queen bees and jaw-droppingly muscular men that feel straight out of the Real Housewives playbook.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The copper-mining industry has so polluted the town that its air stinks and its mountains are covered in black ash.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Prices are higher in the Golden State because of higher taxes and stricter requirements for cleaner, more expensive gas that pollutes less.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Founded by Aurelie Fontan, Meredith Wood and Christopher Ferguson in the United Kingdom, the approach extracts natural pigments from plants grown on polluted land while contributing to soil restoration.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
5 Mar. 2026
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Their waterways are polluted and undrinkable, yet citizens still wash their clothes and utensils in them.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Ten days earlier, Jeff Bezos had announced his divorce from MacKenzie Scott shortly after the National Enquirer reported on Bezos’ extramarital affair with Lauren Sanchez.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
14 Mar. 2026
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The extramarital romantic relationship started in May 2024 while Sinema served in Congress, and bodyguard Matthew Ammel was still married.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The company in 2020 pleaded guilty to distributing adulterated ice-cream products and agreed to pay a fine over the outbreak.—
Dylan Tokar,
WSJ,
2 Feb. 2023
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And while most of those overdoses involved the illicit synthetic opioid fentanyl, experts say that an adulterated and contaminated drug supply is also leading to deaths.—
Nadia Kounang,
CNN,
17 Mar. 2022
Adjective
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According to a 2024 indictment in Crump’s case, assaults are often committed by the club in order to protect and expand territory, intimidate rivals, conceal members from law enforcement and advance extracurricular criminal projects.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
13 Mar. 2026
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But the rematch lived up to the hype in every way, aside from the lack of extracurricular activity.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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To save them, remove the mold by washing them thoroughly with water to remove surface fungi, then spray them with a diluted solution of hydrogen peroxide (1 part hydrogen peroxide to 2 parts water).—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
13 Mar. 2026
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Then, water your plants as usual with the diluted banana water, or use it as a foliar spray on plant leaves.—
Lauren Landers,
The Spruce,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Adulterate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adulterate. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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