POLLUTED Synonyms: 92 Similar and Opposite Words

polluted 1 of 2

adjective

as in contaminated

containing foreign or lower-grade substances called in to clean up the polluted stream

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polluted

2 of 2

verb

past tense of pollute

as in poisoned

to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable outmoded factories polluting the air

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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 polluted

Adjective

If one neighborhood is highly polluted but nearby communities aren’t, county-level averages would show an overall low level of pollution – even though the more detailed information would reveal a major problem to be addressed in one particular area. — Mark Axelrod, The Conversation, 30 June 2026 Mayflies lay up to 10,000 eggs in the water, and their nymphs can't survive in water that is polluted. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 29 June 2026 Her inner light reminds him of the stars he’s seen with his own eyes, above the polluted atmosphere of Earth. — Andy Andersen, Vulture, 27 June 2026 Some went back into the river downstream, where environmental regulators have found waterways warmed and polluted. — Emily Cureton Cook, ProPublica, 26 June 2026 Even then, after days of heavy rain, polluted lagoon water lapped at the edges of the city. — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 24 June 2026 There, Marlon must cross the polluted waters of the festering Guanabara Bay in search of a former commander turned messianic cult leader to stop the spread of their paramilitary group. — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 16 June 2026 Although everyone breathes polluted air, children, elderly, and historically disadvantaged communities are hurt the most. — Chris Hartmann, New York Daily News, 16 June 2026 Manatee County government agreed to help too, establishing a well to dispose of polluted water from the site. — Ryan Ballogg, Miami Herald, 12 June 2026

Verb

But stars aren’t the only things that fail to show up when the sky is polluted with light; fireflies, those flashing, nostalgic symbols of summer, often skip the party too. — Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 1 July 2026 Midland, Texas, is still cleaning up groundwater polluted by a leaking injection well more than two decades ago. — Nick Bowlin, ProPublica, 30 June 2026 As a result, many people living near Mavecure have gotten out of gold mining, which polluted the jungle rivers with mercury and sediment, to work as tour guides, operate restaurants and hostels, or sell arts and crafts. — John Otis, NPR, 30 May 2026 At the latter, four local farmers show The Athletic water courses polluted with crude oil. — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 27 May 2026 Supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party also took the discourse offline this week, dressing up as the insect to clean up India’s notoriously polluted Yamuna River in Delhi, according to news reports. — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 22 May 2026 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 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for polluted

Adjective

Some of the ways a person can get infected is by drinking untreated water, washing or watering fresh produce with contaminated water, or swallowing contaminated water from swimming pools, hot tubs and lakes, according to Cleveland Clinic.

— Michelle Marchante July 10, Miami Herald, 10 July 2026
Mark Levine, the city's comptroller, said this current cluster of cases is from a contaminated cooling tower, and not a water system.

— Amethyst Martinez, USA Today, 10 July 2026

Definition of contaminated

Verb

Bowles told jurors Millete was angry at May over her yearlong affair with another man and likely poisoned her with the toxic plant hemlock.

— Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2026
Many of her victims were poisoned and buried around the boarding house, with Puente cashing their social security checks.

— Selome Hailu, Variety, 7 July 2026

Definition of poisoned

Adjective

If your oregano, mint, or other herbs have begun to flower, give them a hard haircut and a little diluted fertilizer.

— Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 July 2026
By contrast, brewing coffee takes several minutes, resulting in a lighter, more diluted drink.

— Alexandra Emanuelli, Southern Living, 26 June 2026

Definition of diluted

Verb

This discovery really tainted the momentum of our relationship.

— Harriette Cole, Mercury News, 13 July 2026
Attorneys for the owners of the landfill, which stopped accepting trash last year, claimed this spring in the litigation that the lawsuits may be tainted by fraud.

— Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2026

Definition of tainted

Adjective

Clean and disinfect your pruning shears between working on each plant by dipping them into a dilute 10% solution of chlorine bleach water or rubbing alcohol.

— Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 4 July 2026
But dwarf galaxies are smaller and colder, with more dilute and slower-moving matter.

— Paul M. Sutter, Scientific American, 6 May 2026

Definition of dilute

Adjective

In Salinas, the hot temperature of 82 degrees came matched the same mark previously reached in 1999, 1979 and 1954 and came mixed with a humidity that was higher than 70%, according to the weather service.

— Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 13 July 2026
Its charm features a casting of the Liberty Bell and 250 mixed-cut rubies, per Netflix.

— Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 13 July 2026

Definition of mixed

Adjective

Wise’s wistful songwriting is retained, but completely missing is his intentionally impure palette.

— Billie Bugara, Pitchfork, 7 Mar. 2026
Kanto practitioners believe that women cannot participate because, according to Japan's Shinto religion, women's blood from menstruation and childbirth is considered impure for the purpose of religious rituals.

— Anthony Kuhn, NPR, 3 Nov. 2025

Definition of impure

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“Polluted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/polluted. Accessed 14 Jul. 2026.

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