1
as in dilute
containing foreign or lower-grade substances
the pharmacist was convicted of selling adulterate drugs in order to maximize profits
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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
Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025
Of course, a lot of us have the natural instinct to drink cask strength whiskey neat, as if adding water is needlessly adulterating the spirit, or worse yet, a sign of wimpiness.
—Tony Sachs, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
The policy represents a major shift in the U.S. after years of successful lobbying by the pharmaceutical industry, which said imports would expose U.S. patients to risks of counterfeit or adulterated drugs.
—Matthew Perrone, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Jan. 2024
Or: If Amendment 3 passes, street dealers hoping to cultivate addiction by adulterating pot with some of the world’s most dangerous opioids would see a downturn in profits.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 1 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for adulterate
Verb
Acid Red 18 is not allowed, so the product is considered adulterated.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025
Of course, a lot of us have the natural instinct to drink cask strength whiskey neat, as if adding water is needlessly adulterating the spirit, or worse yet, a sign of wimpiness.
—Tony Sachs, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
The policy represents a major shift in the U.S. after years of successful lobbying by the pharmaceutical industry, which said imports would expose U.S. patients to risks of counterfeit or adulterated drugs.
—Matthew Perrone, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Jan. 2024
Or: If Amendment 3 passes, street dealers hoping to cultivate addiction by adulterating pot with some of the world’s most dangerous opioids would see a downturn in profits.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 1 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for adulterate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adulterate
Adjective
-
Vinegar, which is really dilute acetic acid, will help the milk curdle by further denaturing the whey proteins and neutralizing negative charges at the surface of casein micelles.—
Liz Roth-Johnson,
Discover Magazine,
12 Feb. 2013
-
However toxic a substance may be, the amount of exposure received by the general population is very dilute.—
George Johnson,
Discover Magazine,
8 July 2013
Adjective
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But with a twist so big — Sarah being the killer of her adulterous husband Adam’s mistress, Kelly Summers, and the one who set him up for the murder while simultaneously defending him tooth and nail in court — where was Rose to go after that?—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
29 Apr. 2025
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Nor did anyone blink when Shonda Rhimes set Scandal within the White House of a wishy-washy, adulterous GOP President who’d unwittingly stolen an election.—
Judy Berman,
TIME,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
These efforts play a valuable role in addressing the plastic already polluting our oceans.—
Rob Kaplan,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2025
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Runoff from roads, factories, and dumping grounds can also pollute water sources used for crops.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 June 2025
Adjective
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In the early two-thousands, he was found to have misrepresented himself as a prosecutor to help a journalist investigate a mayor suspected of corruption; he was accused of having an extramarital affair; his son reportedly posted misogynistic comments online.—
E. Tammy Kim,
New Yorker,
4 June 2025
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Upon receiving notice that it would be replaced with a new AI system, Opus 4 displayed an overwhelming tendency to blackmail the engineer — by threatening to reveal an extramarital affair — to try to prevent the engineer from going through with the replacement.—
Angela Yang,
NBC news,
1 June 2025
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
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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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From the first day on campus, students are assigned a compatible medical school advisor to navigate coursework, research opportunities and extracurricular activities.—
Kristen Moon,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2025
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The program has had several extracurricular activities, including the ROTC Ball at the Ramona High campus in April, a No-Talent Talent Show, Halloween party and family Christmas party.—
Julie Gallant,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 May 2025
Adjective
-
Net income for the three months ended May 3 rose to $193 million, or diluted earnings per share of 51 cents, up from $158 million, or 42 cents, a year earlier.—
David Moin,
Footwear News,
29 May 2025
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Slugs have no such protection, so the diluted cold coffee solution is deadly for them.—
Leanne Potts,
Better Homes & Gardens,
28 May 2025
Adjective
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This has forced many families to collect water from unsafe and contaminated sources, increasing the risk of cholera and other deadly waterborne diseases, especially in overcrowded neighborhoods and displacement sites.—
Maryanne Murray Buechner,
Forbes.com,
5 June 2025
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The freeze and thaw cycle of the area was causing the contaminated material to come to the surface, Nadel said.—
Joseph States,
Chicago Tribune,
5 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Adulterate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adulterate. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.
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