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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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
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Fiction is inherently adulterous.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Apr. 2026
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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
Verb
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But across Oklahoma, the fluid is spreading uncontrollably belowground, blasting out of old, unplugged wells, polluting land and contaminating drinking water.—
Katie Campbell,
ProPublica,
2 June 2026
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The city had rezoned the area allowing polluting heavy industry to proliferate the community.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
Once guided by stars across the Empty Quarter, Emiratis now live under one of the world’s most light-polluted skies, prompting new dark-sky policies and growing concern over disappearing night.—
Jon Gambrell,
Los Angeles Times,
31 May 2026
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The emergency overflow meant untreated water and polluted stormwater discharged directly into the river.—
Irene Wright,
USA Today,
28 May 2026
Adjective
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Every day brought a thousand little dramas, dropped lines and brilliant recoveries, missing props and onstage farts, the extramarital affair that Proteus and Julia had commenced, the gay actor’s wicked commentary on it, followed by bad behavior in bars.—
Jonathan Franzen,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
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The Saturday report about Platner’s extramarital relationships added to mounting scrutiny of the progressive Democrat, whose past social media activity and a tattoo featuring a Nazi symbol have also caused controversy.—
Carter Schroppe,
The Washington Examiner,
31 May 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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That includes academics, athletics, events, extracurricular activities and financial aid.—
Marie-Amelie George,
The Conversation,
28 May 2026
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Komolafe has also done her share of extracurricular activities, leading the Key Club and Diversity Club at Oak Forest High School, and helping to organize a Nigerian and African American culture event.—
Janice Neumann,
Chicago Tribune,
27 May 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
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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 9 Jun. 2026.
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