as in polluted
containing foreign or lower-grade substances
the hospitals had no choice but to throw out the contaminated blood supply
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in poisoned
to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable
a supply of drinking water that was contaminated by a toxic waste dump
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of contaminated
Christopher Cann, USA Today, 23 July 2025
The clinic suspects the animal has leptospirosis, a bacterial disease caused by contaminated water or soil.
—Krissy Waite, Mercury News, 23 July 2025
Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 2025
This lid defect could allow the beverage to become contaminated with bacteria.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for contaminated
Adjective
Most infections occur when people swallow contaminated water or get it in an open wound.
—Christopher Cann, USA Today, 23 July 2025
The clinic suspects the animal has leptospirosis, a bacterial disease caused by contaminated water or soil.
—Krissy Waite, Mercury News, 23 July 2025
Verb
Indeed, since the virus was first reported in dairy cows in March 2024, one of the sentinel signs that a farm has been infected is the presence of dead barn cats that drank contaminated raw milk.
—Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 2025
This lid defect could allow the beverage to become contaminated with bacteria.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for contaminated
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contaminated
Verb
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That number includes children, who represent 16 percent of those poisoned and 27 percent of all fatalities.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Apr. 2025
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And guess what, hospitals are seeing cases of vitamin A toxicity — of kids poisoned by being fed too many vitamins instead of being vaccinated.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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While its early chapters brimmed with connection, the latest reveals strain: diluted trust, fraying fandom, speculative thrill substituting for substance.—
Kate Hardcastle,
Forbes.com,
4 Aug. 2025
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Smoosh with your fingers, spritz them off with a sharp stream of water, or spray with diluted rubbing alcohol.—
Nan Sterman,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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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Some of that tainted groundwater also is being pumped back to the plant for cooling before being released into White River.—
Karl Schneider,
IndyStar,
5 Aug. 2025
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And what might that mean if people eat the tainted crop?—
Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi,
Discover Magazine,
15 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Contaminated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contaminated. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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