as in to clean
to remove dirty or dangerous substances (such as radioactive material) from (a person, thing, place, etc.)
Special workers were called in to decontaminate the area after the oil spill.
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Recent Examples of decontaminate
Radiation protection personnel allegedly responded to the incident quickly, pulling the worker from the water and decontaminating him safely.
—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
Workers have complained of chemical burns from the waste material generated by the tunneling process, and firefighters must decontaminate their equipment after conducting rescues from the project sites.
—Anjeanette Damon, ProPublica, 10 Oct. 2025
Last week, a Democratic Congressional candidate was seen being thrown to the ground by a federal agent – the moment was captured on video – while local leaders reported having to leave the protest to decontaminate themselves after tear gas was deployed.
—Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
There are free stations to decontaminate watercraft around the state — for more information go to the DNR website.
—Pioneer Press, Twin Cities, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for decontaminate
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
Workers have complained of chemical burns from the waste material generated by the tunneling process, and firefighters must decontaminate their equipment after conducting rescues from the project sites.
—Anjeanette Damon, ProPublica, 10 Oct. 2025
Last week, a Democratic Congressional candidate was seen being thrown to the ground by a federal agent – the moment was captured on video – while local leaders reported having to leave the protest to decontaminate themselves after tear gas was deployed.
—Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
There are free stations to decontaminate watercraft around the state — for more information go to the DNR website.
—Pioneer Press, Twin Cities, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for decontaminate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decontaminate
Verb
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How to clean hummingbird feeders Ensure your feeders are thoroughly washed and rinsed before filling them with food.—
Jordan Green,
Memphis Commercial Appeal,
6 Mar. 2026
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Elena Navarro is a cleaning expert and professional organizer at Sparkly Maid Austin in Austin, Texas.—
Quincy Bulin,
Southern Living,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But some backpacks are better for travel than others, perhaps designed with isolated shoe compartments, holes to feed your phone charging cable through, jewelry pouches, and special materials that simply wipe clean after picking up germs from public floors.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Mar. 2026
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Then use a microfiber cloth barely dampened with water to wipe the fixture clean, making sure to get into any grooves and crevices.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The upper stage, known as the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and its single RL-10 engine, wasn’t able to get the helium gas, used to purge the stage of cryogenic fuel and maintain proper pressure, to flow into it.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
3 Mar. 2026
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Pristine lunar samples are stored and handled in stainless steel glove cabinets, separated by triple layers of gloves, and purged by high-purity nitrogen gas to reduce sample degradation.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Over the decades, the facility drastically shrank, reflecting a larger deinstitutionalization sweeping the state and country amid concerns over abuse at state psychiatric hospitals.—
Andrew Khouri,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
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On Thursday, powerful storms swept across the southern Plains, bringing numerous tornado threats from Texas to the Midwest.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decontaminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decontaminate. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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