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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Translators are not auxiliary figures but co-witnesses, extending the reach of these voices without diluting their force.—
Alex Averbuch,
Literary Hub,
24 Feb. 2026
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Capturing and feeding this CO₂ to microbes sidesteps the significant energy penalty of diluting it with air while also removing pollutants.—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Others live and work near polluting freeways.—
Dorany Pineda,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
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Japan, one of the world's top carbon emitters, plans to ship emissions from its heavily polluting industries –– spanning electric power, oil refining, cement, shipping and steel –– to Malaysia within the next few years.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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On one sequence Harding made a perfect bounce pass to a cutting Edmonds, who dunked over a West Virginia defender.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 Feb. 2026
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Go easy on the buffing Some people also like to buff their nails after cutting, and a light buff can promote healthy growth and increase shine.—
Andee Tagle,
NPR,
21 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Adulterating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adulterating. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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