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
The estimated volume of wastewater contaminating the San Gabriel River is more than 100,000 gallons, per the release.
—
Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026
Check your squash regularly for signs of spoilage and remove any affected squash immediately to avoid contaminating the others.
—Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 4 Jan. 2026
Julia Roberts stars as the real-life activist, a single mother who exposes Pacific Gas & Electric for contaminating a small town's water supply and drives a major legal case against the company.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Dec. 2025
When levees fail, the impacts cascade, closing roads, knocking out power, contaminating water supplies and disrupting lives for years.
—Farshid Vahedifard, The Conversation, 29 Dec. 2025
The compression system inside is genius, and the sectioned divider keeps my dirty clothes from contaminating the rest of my items (major win).
—Samantha Leal, Travel + Leisure, 29 Nov. 2025
By shooing cherry-pecking birds away, these raptors prevent them from contaminating crops with their poop.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 27 Nov. 2025
Sun Never Again is indeed part Lynchian coming-of-ager, part gritty portrait of a village situated on the edge of a coal mine that’s contaminating the region.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 21 Nov. 2025
Mayor Greenberg credits the quick action of Louisville MSD teams with preventing thousands of gallons of oil from contaminating groundwater.
—Monroe Trombly, Louisville Courier Journal, 10 Nov. 2025
Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026
Check your squash regularly for signs of spoilage and remove any affected squash immediately to avoid contaminating the others.
—Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 4 Jan. 2026
Julia Roberts stars as the real-life activist, a single mother who exposes Pacific Gas & Electric for contaminating a small town's water supply and drives a major legal case against the company.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Dec. 2025
When levees fail, the impacts cascade, closing roads, knocking out power, contaminating water supplies and disrupting lives for years.
—Farshid Vahedifard, The Conversation, 29 Dec. 2025
The compression system inside is genius, and the sectioned divider keeps my dirty clothes from contaminating the rest of my items (major win).
—Samantha Leal, Travel + Leisure, 29 Nov. 2025
By shooing cherry-pecking birds away, these raptors prevent them from contaminating crops with their poop.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 27 Nov. 2025
Sun Never Again is indeed part Lynchian coming-of-ager, part gritty portrait of a village situated on the edge of a coal mine that’s contaminating the region.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 21 Nov. 2025
Mayor Greenberg credits the quick action of Louisville MSD teams with preventing thousands of gallons of oil from contaminating groundwater.
—Monroe Trombly, Louisville Courier Journal, 10 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contaminating
Verb
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Chemical rockets put out huge plumes of polluting exhaust, and for a massive machine like the SpaceX Starship, with 33 first-stage engines, that can add up—especially with hundreds of launches planned.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
7 Jan. 2026
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The evidence is overwhelming and very difficult for high-polluting foreign governments to credibly challenge.—
Chip Lamarca,
Sun Sentinel,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Alice is paranoid, thinking her roommate is rearranging her shower supplies and that someone might be poisoning her food.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
11 Jan. 2026
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In one case, in the year before Makandal’s death, a servant in Saint-Domingue named Médor was arrested for poisoning his enslaver to obtain his freedom.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contaminating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contaminating. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
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