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
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Recent Examples of contaminating
Over the years, villagers in Roko-Roko held demonstrations, accusing the mining company of clearing community farmland and contaminating a local spring.
—
NPR, 7 May 2026
Leaders said the leak resulted in 20,000 gallons of fuel being released, contaminating the soil outside the base at the waters of nearby Piscataway Creek.
—Jt Moodee Lockman, CBS News, 6 May 2026
Research has shown the likelihood of the gas contaminating soil and groundwater is low.
—Dorany Pineda, Fortune, 2 May 2026
Research has shown the likelihood of the gas contaminating soil and groundwater is low.
—ABC News, 1 May 2026
Just last month, a massive oil spill in the Gulf spread more than 373 miles and into seven nature reserves, contaminating at least six species and sending 800 tons of hydrocarbon-laden waste into the ocean.
—Alexa St. John, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026
This link, as expected, appears strongest in coastal areas where seawater is increasingly contaminating freshwater supplies.
—Rajiv Chowdhury, The Conversation, 15 Apr. 2026
The risk of contaminating the aquifer is a long and sincerely held fear among critics like Leigh Ford, executive director of the Snake River Alliance, a nuclear watchdog.
—Mark Dee
april 13, Idaho Statesman, 13 Apr. 2026
This can be a contaminating breeding ground if there were to be leaks that damage packaging, or an invitation for pests to munch on your items before you.
—Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 12 Apr. 2026
NPR, 7 May 2026
Leaders said the leak resulted in 20,000 gallons of fuel being released, contaminating the soil outside the base at the waters of nearby Piscataway Creek.
—Jt Moodee Lockman, CBS News, 6 May 2026
Research has shown the likelihood of the gas contaminating soil and groundwater is low.
—Dorany Pineda, Fortune, 2 May 2026
Research has shown the likelihood of the gas contaminating soil and groundwater is low.
—ABC News, 1 May 2026
Just last month, a massive oil spill in the Gulf spread more than 373 miles and into seven nature reserves, contaminating at least six species and sending 800 tons of hydrocarbon-laden waste into the ocean.
—Alexa St. John, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026
This link, as expected, appears strongest in coastal areas where seawater is increasingly contaminating freshwater supplies.
—Rajiv Chowdhury, The Conversation, 15 Apr. 2026
The risk of contaminating the aquifer is a long and sincerely held fear among critics like Leigh Ford, executive director of the Snake River Alliance, a nuclear watchdog.
—Mark Dee
april 13, Idaho Statesman, 13 Apr. 2026
This can be a contaminating breeding ground if there were to be leaks that damage packaging, or an invitation for pests to munch on your items before you.
—Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 12 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contaminating
Verb
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Engineers and safety experts are solving problems in a new technology that gets us off expensive and polluting fossil fuels.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
9 May 2026
-
Sunil Bector, an attorney with the Sierra Club, said that heavily polluting facilities will reap overlapping benefits from the assault on the Clean Air Act.—
Mark Olalde,
ProPublica,
8 May 2026
Verb
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Kouri Richins, a Utah woman convicted of fatally poisoning her husband with fentanyl, is set to be sentenced for murder on Wednesday.—
Meredith Deliso,
ABC News,
13 May 2026
-
One of the charges against Richins is connected to that incident after prosecutors accused her of poisoning his sandwich in an attempt to kill him.—
Minyvonne Burke,
NBC news,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contaminating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contaminating. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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