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.
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Recent Examples of decontaminating
Among our responsibilities was decontaminating people and equipment after exposure to hazardous materials.
—
Jennifer N. Pritzker, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 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
Jennifer N. Pritzker, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decontaminating
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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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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The administration has provided no explanation for purging the board, which helps steer the National Science Foundation and acts as an independent advisory body for the president and Congress on scientific and engineering issues, providing reports throughout the year.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Knicks won Game 3 Friday night, and are on the verge of sweeping their rivals, which serves Philadelphia right for trying to pull off such an underhanded scheme.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
9 May 2026
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In a set of photos that's sweeping the internet, Pope Leo was well and truly seen in a pair of Nike sneakers, paired with his traditional, priestly robes.—
Chiara Da Col,
Vanity Fair,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decontaminating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decontaminating. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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