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
Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 17 Jan. 2026
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
Food and/or ice adulterated or contaminated.
—Gege Reed, Louisville Courier Journal, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for adulterate
Verb
This comes after Martin pled guilty to willfully poisoning or adulterating food, water or medicine, which is a felony offense in Nevada.
—Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 17 Jan. 2026
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
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
-
But dwarf galaxies are smaller and colder, with more dilute and slower-moving matter.—
Paul M. Sutter,
Scientific American,
6 May 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
Fiction is inherently adulterous.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Apr. 2026
-
But the gamesmanship, foreshadowing the adulterous antics of Harold Pinter’s plays, escalates perilously.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Nothing in art about their being polluting.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
-
Unless the energy powering data centers comes from clean energy sources, such as solar, wind or geothermal, generating that electricity also pollutes the air.—
Ed Maibach,
The Conversation,
8 June 2026
Adjective
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The measure was a face-off between supporters who said the community needed more housing and opponents who raised concerns about traffic, wildlife and polluted groundwater from a nearby former landfill.—
Paul Rogers,
Mercury News,
9 June 2026
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The purifiers are part of the county’s effort to provide temporary relief to South Bay residents exposed to hydrogen sulfide from the polluted waterway while the United States and Mexico work to address infrastructure failures at a transboundary wastewater treatment facility.—
Walker Armstrong,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
When sports journalist Dianna Russini and Patriots coach Mike Vrabel had what appeared to be an extramarital affair exposed by the New York Post, Russini was forced out of her job and perhaps her career, while repercussions for Vrabel have been all but nonexistent.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
2 June 2026
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Although Barbara was aware of Eli’s extramarital affairs, divorce was out of the question.—
Alex Gurley,
PEOPLE,
2 June 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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Students who work part-time to earn extra income may struggle to keep up in class, and often sacrifice important opportunities for extracurricular learning along the way.—
Albert D. Mosley,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 June 2026
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The recipients were selected for their outstanding academic achievements and involvement in other extracurricular activities, according to Lomnicky.—
Elizabeth Marie Himchak,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 June 2026
Adjective
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Spraying a diluted milk mixture directly onto the soil nourishes these microbes.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
31 May 2026
-
Add baking soda and diluted vinegar.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
The Spruce,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Adulterate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adulterate. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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