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
-
In addition to the convenience factor, dishwasher pods are also popular due to their effectiveness in cleaning dishes.—
Maria Sabella,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Nov. 2025
-
And even the most devoted coffee people can sometimes skimp on deep-cleaning their equipment.—
Noah Kaufman,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Ross needs to lean into purging this franchise of its mediocre ways, which has turned a generation of South Florida fans away from football.—
Omar Kelly
October 31,
Miami Herald,
31 Oct. 2025
-
In an interview with Cycling Weekly last year, Slovenian Jan Tratnik said that his desperation to lose weight led him to develop bulimia – binge-eating large amounts of food and purging it to avoid weight gain.—
George Ramsay,
CNN Money,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Democrats routed the Republican Party from high-profile governors’ races to obscure local contests Tuesday, sweeping statewide races in Virginia and New Jersey while electing New York City’s first Muslim mayor.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Many of the Supreme Court justices, including those in the conservative majority, cast a skeptical eye on the sweeping duties as representatives for the administration and the petitioners made their cases over the course of more than three hours.—
Kate Nishimura,
Sourcing Journal,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Decontaminating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decontaminating. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share