1
as in dilute
containing foreign or lower-grade substances
the pharmacist was convicted of selling adulterate drugs in order to maximize profits
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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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Recent Examples of adulterate
Gege Reed, Louisville Courier Journal, 3 Oct. 2025
Food and/or ice adulterated or contaminated (discarded).
—Gege Reed, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025
Farmers or middlemen also frequently adulterated milk, watering it down to stretch supplies—with impure water likely to introduce further pathogens—or adding toxic substances, like formaldehyde or chalk, meant to conceal spoilage or make milk appear whiter.
— Made By History, Time, 29 Apr. 2025
For years, Vietnamese and Indian exporters have been adulterating honey with cane, rice, and corn sweeteners before dumping it on the U.S. domestic market.
—Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for adulterate
Verb
Food and/or ice adulterated or contaminated.
—Gege Reed, Louisville Courier Journal, 3 Oct. 2025
Food and/or ice adulterated or contaminated (discarded).
—Gege Reed, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025
Farmers or middlemen also frequently adulterated milk, watering it down to stretch supplies—with impure water likely to introduce further pathogens—or adding toxic substances, like formaldehyde or chalk, meant to conceal spoilage or make milk appear whiter.
— Made By History, Time, 29 Apr. 2025
For years, Vietnamese and Indian exporters have been adulterating honey with cane, rice, and corn sweeteners before dumping it on the U.S. domestic market.
—Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 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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In the months since the incident unfolded at Gillette Stadium, the public — which was quick to discover that Cabot worked as an HR executive under Byron, and that both were married to other people at the time — has been quick to brand the pair as adulterous villains.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
18 Dec. 2025
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The supernatural thriller sees a woman return from death as a vindictive spirit to torment her adulterous husband.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
26 June 2025
Verb
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Despite the cesspits of conspiracy-think that pollute contemporary politics, the specific paranoia of Letts’s characters — bugs under the skin, brainwashing, nefarious doctors in government labs — feels less blazingly relevant than comparatively quaint.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
9 Jan. 2026
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Chemical rockets put out huge plumes of polluting exhaust, and for a massive machine like the SpaceX Starship, with 33 first-stage engines, that can add up—especially with hundreds of launches planned.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The lagoon is the most biologically diverse estuary on the nation’s east coast, but the manatees, birds and fish that call it home are suffering dramatically from the death of seagrass and the abundance of noxious algae that thrive on polluted water.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Jan. 2026
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The state also has an above average number of polluted waterways and more coal ash ponds — small, toxic water bodies near coal plants where poisonous refuse is discarded — than any other state.—
Karl Schneider,
IndyStar,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Moore was fired three weeks ago for having an extramarital affair with a staffer, and he was arrested and charged with three crimes later in the day for breaking into the woman's home.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
1 Jan. 2026
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The Apartment This movie follows an insurance clerk who tries to climb the corporate ladder by letting executives use his apartment for their extramarital affairs.—
Madeline Buiano,
Martha Stewart,
30 Dec. 2025
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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Four Democratic-Farm-Labor Party lawmakers who chair state Senate education committees cited Minneapolis Public Schools canceling classes and extracurricular activities last week after federal agents reportedly clashed with students and staff during Roosevelt High School’s dismissal on Wednesday.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
11 Jan. 2026
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Parents also used relief funds for educational and extracurricular supports and emergency savings.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The state tried to incorporate as many voices as possible, which is admirable in some ways, but diluted rural hospitals’ message, Stansbury said.—
Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
11 Jan. 2026
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As for baking soda, the greatest success was observed when mixing diluted baking soda with horticulture oil.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
31 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Adulterate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adulterate. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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