as in diluting
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 adulterating
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
Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 17 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adulterating
Verb
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The challenge lies in tailoring your tone without diluting the mission or fragmenting the brand.—
Rolling Stone Culture Council,
Rolling Stone,
11 Mar. 2026
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Try diluting it with water if the taste is too much for you.—
Jamie Johnson,
Verywell Health,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The lawsuit accused Sacramento of creating a public nuisance and violating a Fish and Game Code section prohibiting polluting California’s waters.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
12 Mar. 2026
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In 1991, during the Gulf War, Iraq intentionally released hundreds of millions of barrels of oil into the Persian Gulf, polluting the water used by Gulf desalination plants.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Pfeiffer opened the scoring in the eighth minute, cutting across from the right wing and beating Denver keeper Abby Smith with her left foot.—
Harold Gutmann,
Mercury News,
15 Mar. 2026
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The recently recovered Celtics star drew a shooting foul, fed Queta for a cutting dunk and sank a 3-pointer on consecutive Celtics possessions, then pulled up for an 18-footer a minute later.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
15 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Adulterating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adulterating. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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