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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An 11-year-old named Ashton built a viral bin-cleaning business by simply addressing a local need.
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To incorporate dryer sheets into your oven rack-cleaning, line a layer of dryer sheets on top of your old towel in the bottom of the bathtub, add the rack(s), and cover the rack(s) with more dryer sheets.
Verb
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Lower courts have ruled against Arizona’s method of purging voter rolls within 90 days of an election.
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Here was a symbolic way of purging Hindu society of untouchability.
Verb
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Other provisions in the sweeping charter reform measure would give the board more power over the county bureaucracy.
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Across the Atlantic, a historic heat wave sweeping Europe has turned deadly.
Cite this Entry
“Decontaminating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decontaminating. Accessed 4 Jul. 2026.
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