Synonyms of contaminating

contaminating

verb

present participle of contaminate

as in polluting

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

• polluting
• poisoning
• tainting
• infecting
• defiling
• befouling
• fouling
• dirtying
• diluting
• staining
• soiling
• sullying
• besmirching
• corrupting
• rotting
• smudging
• blackening
• adulterating
• muddying
• spoiling
• miring
• fouling up
• griming
• watering down
• smirching
• begriming
• doctoring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cleaning
• purifying
• clearing
• clarifying
• purging
• cleansing
• distilling
• decontaminating
• filtering
• sterilizing
• disinfecting
• sanitizing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of contaminating

Once the gold is separated, the mercury is released into the rivers, contaminating water sources and fish essential to Indigenous life. — Gabriela Sa Pessoa, Fortune, 24 July 2026

This methane could collect in the same cold pockets where ice and ancient molecules have been collected for billions of years, possibly contaminating this finite, scientific evidence. — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 14 July 2026

The district, which plans to send out an inspector, could determine whether wind carrying coal dust stored nearby may be contaminating the sugar. — Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 9 July 2026

The decision also followed a nearly $16 million fine issued by the state environmental department to the DOE for allegedly contaminating groundwater by failing to manage legacy radioactive waste. — Ariel Cohen, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026

Barrera hasn’t turned on Quintero’s air conditioner for fear of contaminating the house. — Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 24 June 2026

Until the 1990s, the power company disposed of over 1 million tons of coal ash in an unlined storage area in Pines, later contaminating the groundwater that supplied the town of 700. — Christiana Freitag, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2026

Humans, on the other hand, are almost like an invasive species, with air filters lining the floors changing out all of the factory’s air in just a single minute to make sure those bags of flesh and blood don’t release too many contaminating particles. — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 10 June 2026

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