as in cleaning
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.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of decontaminating
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
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decontaminating
Verb
-
My mom also notes the importance of always properly cleaning your cashmere and other garments before putting them away for the season.—
Cameron Beall,
Southern Living,
31 Jan. 2026
-
The most common danger is getting an infection from not properly cleaning your spa after every use.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Heaters are keeping the Orion capsule warm atop the rocket, officials said, and rocket-purging systems are also being adapted to the cold.—
Marcia Dunn,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
-
And so every autocrat ends up purging any kind of critic.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The Pitt has garnered critical acclaim and earned several awards, including sweeping the 2025 Emmys and taking home two trophies at the 2026 Golden Globe Awards, including Wyle’s win for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series.—
Lynsey Eidell,
PEOPLE,
1 Feb. 2026
-
If previous protests had been specific to United, the widespread unrest that broke out in spring 2021 was emblematic of a wider rage sweeping across English football.—
Chris McKenna,
New York Times,
1 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decontaminating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decontaminating. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
