as in contaminated
containing foreign or lower-grade substances
called in to clean up the polluted stream
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in poisoned
to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable
outmoded factories polluting the air
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of polluted
The New Yorker, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
If canaries in coal mines were harbingers of safe conditions, surely piping plovers at Waukegan Beach mean the city is overcoming its polluted past.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026
Made in response to a difficult breakup, the work alludes to two lovers parting ways, but also to Pau’s memories of isolation as a severely asthmatic child in a notoriously polluted city, lying in bed staring at the wall and inventing stories to distract herself from the difficulty of breathing.
—Pauline J. Yao, Artforum, 2 May 2026
Health crises hidden in supply chains Communities living near these extraction sites report people suffering from skin diseases, gastrointestinal illnesses, reproductive health problems and chronic health conditions associated with long‑term exposure to heavy metals in polluted water and soil.
—Kaveh Madani, The Conversation, 29 Apr. 2026
But many of the communities where those minerals are mined end up with polluted water and poorer health because of the mining.
—Abraham Nunbogu, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026
As Mexico City has expanded over time, the Xochimilco lake system has gradually shrunk and become more polluted in certain areas, which has led to a steep decline in their population.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2026
As Mexico City has expanded, Xochimilco’s waters have shrunk and become more polluted, reducing suitable habitat for the species.
—Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Apr. 2026
As of April 2025, the department still had a backlog of 120 permit applications from Maryland facilities that release polluted wastewater into the environment.
—Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 24 Apr. 2026
Dylan Jackson, ABC News, 6 May 2026
That is exactly what this film cleverly does — pinpoints the insidious nature of far-right movements and the creeping rhetoric that has polluted our society.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 30 Apr. 2026
Water sources are often polluted through run-off from lawns that contain herbicides.
—David Beaulieu, The Spruce, 28 Apr. 2026
As Mexico City has expanded, the Xochimilco water system has shrunk and become increasingly polluted, placing mounting pressure on the axolotl population.
—Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 28 Apr. 2026
There is no remediation if the waters in it are polluted by copper sulfide and nickel mining.
—Mary Murphy, Twin Cities, 17 Apr. 2026
The heavy elements produced in the violent death of one first generation star swiftly polluted a primordial cloud of molecular hydrogen and helium that subsequently collapsed to form SDSS J0715-7334.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 16 Apr. 2026
The river has been polluted by pesticide and fertilizer runoff for years, and the mining water adds another burden, Deehan said.
—Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026
Many of those natural springs have either stopped flowing, been cut off by development or been polluted.
—Ryan Brennan
april 9, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
Though McCoy’s plot is often murkier than the polluted lake around which its events unfold, her voice, highly attuned to sensory experience, shines through.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
If canaries in coal mines were harbingers of safe conditions, surely piping plovers at Waukegan Beach mean the city is overcoming its polluted past.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026
Made in response to a difficult breakup, the work alludes to two lovers parting ways, but also to Pau’s memories of isolation as a severely asthmatic child in a notoriously polluted city, lying in bed staring at the wall and inventing stories to distract herself from the difficulty of breathing.
—Pauline J. Yao, Artforum, 2 May 2026
Health crises hidden in supply chains Communities living near these extraction sites report people suffering from skin diseases, gastrointestinal illnesses, reproductive health problems and chronic health conditions associated with long‑term exposure to heavy metals in polluted water and soil.
—Kaveh Madani, The Conversation, 29 Apr. 2026
But many of the communities where those minerals are mined end up with polluted water and poorer health because of the mining.
—Abraham Nunbogu, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026
As Mexico City has expanded over time, the Xochimilco lake system has gradually shrunk and become more polluted in certain areas, which has led to a steep decline in their population.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2026
As Mexico City has expanded, Xochimilco’s waters have shrunk and become more polluted, reducing suitable habitat for the species.
—Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Apr. 2026
As of April 2025, the department still had a backlog of 120 permit applications from Maryland facilities that release polluted wastewater into the environment.
—Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 24 Apr. 2026
Verb
Testing by the University of Georgia that alerted the industry and state in 2008, when Bost was in her teens, showed the local Conasauga River that supplies the region’s drinking water was polluted.
—Dylan Jackson, ABC News, 6 May 2026
That is exactly what this film cleverly does — pinpoints the insidious nature of far-right movements and the creeping rhetoric that has polluted our society.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 30 Apr. 2026
Water sources are often polluted through run-off from lawns that contain herbicides.
—David Beaulieu, The Spruce, 28 Apr. 2026
As Mexico City has expanded, the Xochimilco water system has shrunk and become increasingly polluted, placing mounting pressure on the axolotl population.
—Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 28 Apr. 2026
There is no remediation if the waters in it are polluted by copper sulfide and nickel mining.
—Mary Murphy, Twin Cities, 17 Apr. 2026
The heavy elements produced in the violent death of one first generation star swiftly polluted a primordial cloud of molecular hydrogen and helium that subsequently collapsed to form SDSS J0715-7334.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 16 Apr. 2026
The river has been polluted by pesticide and fertilizer runoff for years, and the mining water adds another burden, Deehan said.
—Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026
Many of those natural springs have either stopped flowing, been cut off by development or been polluted.
—Ryan Brennan
april 9, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for polluted
Adjective
-
People can get sick after breathing in contaminated particles that get stirred into the air, especially while cleaning or spending time in places where rodents have been active, like sheds, garages, barns, cabins and storage areas.—
Tiffani Jackson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 May 2026
-
Both options are naturally gluten-free, but oats are more likely to be cross-contaminated with gluten.—
Mira Miller,
Verywell Health,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
Who cares about the fact that her friend cheated when her child was poisoned by her husband and her father?—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Weinstein’s lawyers have argued that his New York conviction last year was poisoned by bad blood among jurors.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Many of Starmer’s potential opponents within the Labour Party are tainted by scandal – such as Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister who resigned last year over her failure to pay the correct amount of property tax – or untested.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
8 May 2026
-
An expert who spoke to New York magazine estimated that about 30 percent of the peptides tested for clients were contaminated or otherwise tainted.—
Erin Vanderhoof,
Vanity Fair,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The company brought in diluted earnings of 3 cents per share, compared with a diluted loss per share of 81 cents for the year-ago period.—
Glenn Taylor,
Footwear News,
6 May 2026
-
Potted zucchini do better with diluted applications of liquid fertilizer applied at regular intervals.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
4 May 2026
Adjective
-
But dwarf galaxies are smaller and colder, with more dilute and slower-moving matter.—
Paul M. Sutter,
Scientific American,
6 May 2026
-
Second, a dilute hydrochloric acid is used to dissolve the remaining lithium and the transition metals—nickel, cobalt, and manganese.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The company in 2020 pleaded guilty to distributing adulterated ice-cream products and agreed to pay a fine over the outbreak.—
Dylan Tokar,
WSJ,
2 Feb. 2023
-
And while most of those overdoses involved the illicit synthetic opioid fentanyl, experts say that an adulterated and contaminated drug supply is also leading to deaths.—
Nadia Kounang,
CNN,
17 Mar. 2022
Adjective
-
In selecting Norwich, a city centrally located in the eastern part of the state, the team has found a home stadium that looks much different than the large-scale plans Swanston had for a $1 billion waterfront stadium and mixed-use development project in Bridgeport.—
P.R. Lockhart,
Hartford Courant,
9 May 2026
-
America’s 26th president also inspired the region’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which safeguards his modest log cabin and a pristine slice of the northern mixed grass prairie and many of the species Roosevelt would have encountered, including bison, prairie dogs and wild horses.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
8 May 2026
Adjective
-
Wise’s wistful songwriting is retained, but completely missing is his intentionally impure palette.—
Billie Bugara,
Pitchfork,
7 Mar. 2026
-
This is because they are often seen as ritually impure.—
Megan Bryson,
The Conversation,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Polluted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/polluted. Accessed 12 May. 2026.
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