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
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
Perversely, this exemption may encourage companies to switch to highly-polluting diesel engines to avoid idling fines.—
Chris Hartmann,
New York Daily News,
16 June 2026
-
Will the increasing population restrain from polluting the soil, the water and the atmosphere?—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
There, Marlon must cross the polluted waters of the festering Guanabara Bay in search of a former commander turned messianic cult leader to stop the spread of their paramilitary group.—
Rafa Sales Ross,
Variety,
16 June 2026
-
Although everyone breathes polluted air, children, elderly, and historically disadvantaged communities are hurt the most.—
Chris Hartmann,
New York Daily News,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
Gates acknowledged having two extramarital affairs that Epstein later learned about.—
Lauren Peller,
ABC News,
10 June 2026
-
Those include a Nazi tattoo, offensive social media posts, an extramarital sexting scandal, and allegedly toxic former romantic relationships.—
Ramsey Touchberry,
The Washington Examiner,
10 June 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
In spring 2025, lawmakers placed new limits on the amount of money families participating in the school choice program could spend on extracurricular activities or transportation.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
19 June 2026
-
Activity makes a 'huge difference' Nayleen is one of the thousands of students across the country who participate in extracurricular activities through the SCORES program, which creates safe environments where young people can build connections with their communities, according to its website.—
Arthur Jones II,
ABC News,
18 June 2026
Adjective
-
However, those conditions were tailored for the popular drink’s smoother, more diluted flavor with around one-fifth of espresso’s caffeine concentration.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
11 June 2026
-
Wipe them down with mild soap and water, diluted bleach, or an all-purpose cleaner.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
10 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Adulterate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adulterate. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
