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
The sheriff's office says first responders were decontaminated at the hospital.
—
Dejanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
After receiving a settlement from his insurance company, Minds used the funds to decontaminate and fix his house.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for decontaminate
Dejanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
After receiving a settlement from his insurance company, Minds used the funds to decontaminate and fix his house.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for decontaminate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decontaminate
Verb
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On May 6, 2016, Kianna and her sister, Miah, were home cleaning the house for Mother’s Day while Fiona was work.—
Gloria Casas,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
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Rescuers pulled his body from the water after half an hour and rushed him to Los Angeles General Medical Center, where Michelle works on the overnight cleaning crew.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
Verb
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For some homeowners, their return signals an all-out battle, with sprays, tools and weekend hours spent trying to wipe them from the lawn for good.—
Ryan Brennan,
Sacbee.com,
1 May 2026
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Rinse with warm water, then wipe dry.—
Kate Van Pelt,
The Spruce,
1 May 2026
Verb
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The data shows that black and brown people spend much longer time, in longer lines, purging people, people literally showing up and not knowing that their names have been purged from the rolls.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
4 May 2026
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On defense, the Kings have purged talent with limited or no value in return in recent years.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
2 May 2026
Verb
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Andrew Srojny notched 15 kills, seven digs and a block as Norton swept Dighton-Rehoboth 3-0 in a nonleague match.—
Tyler McManus,
Boston Herald,
9 May 2026
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The Huskies came back to reverse sweep the Vipers in a thrilling playoff battle at Grant High School.—
Justin Vigil Zuniga,
Daily News,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decontaminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decontaminate. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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