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
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
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The best lens cleaning services If your lens has persistent smudges, fungus on the inside of the lens or internal dust, professional cleaning may be necessary.—
Jacob Little,
Space.com,
14 Mar. 2026
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When cleaning protocols break down, those germs can spread rapidly in close quarters.—
Jessica Mekles,
FOXNews.com,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Order 1 dissolved the ruling Baath Party and removed all senior party members from their government positions, purging the administrative class that ran its ministries, hospitals and schools.—
Farah N. Jan,
The Conversation,
10 Mar. 2026
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Heaters were deployed to keep the Orion capsule on top of the rocket warm, while rocket-purging systems were adapted to the cold.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But the Heat is essentially three losses behind the Magic because Orlando owns the head-to-head tiebreaker after sweeping the teams’ five-game regular-season series.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
15 Mar. 2026
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And Jones said the mission could involve mine-sweeping capabilities, airstrikes on Iranian threats on the coasts and a nearby quick reaction force that can deal with attacks.—
Joe Walsh,
CBS News,
14 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decontaminating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decontaminating. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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