as in contaminated
containing foreign or lower-grade substances
called in to clean up the polluted stream
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
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
Thomas Heaton, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
State officials issued islandwide brown water advisories for Oahu and Maui after storms sent polluted runoff into coastal waters.
—Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2026
The South Asian nation ranked the world’s most polluted country in 2025, according to the report.
—Esha Mitra, CNN Money, 1 Apr. 2026
Since 2020, the central government has required factories in key industries, such as steel, cement, and coal power, to use a certain percentage of new-energy heavy trucks or face production restrictions on heavily polluted days.
—Xiaoying You, semafor.com, 31 Mar. 2026
Across the Northern Hemisphere, migratory fish such as salmon, sturgeon and shad have suffered major losses because rivers have been dammed and polluted, while many populations were heavily overfished.
—Zeb Hogan, The Conversation, 24 Mar. 2026
The world’s top 25 most polluted cities were all in India, Pakistan and China.
—Reuters, NBC news, 24 Mar. 2026
Today, most of humanity only has access to a heavily polluted sky rather than the pristine views our ancestors enjoyed, but that sense of awe and wonder still remains.
—Big Think, 23 Mar. 2026
They have been linked to a vast number of health risks, but their effect on athletic performance has generally been studied only when people are racing or training in polluted environments.
—Richard A. Lovett, Outside, 19 Mar. 2026
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
Unfortunately, many of those natural springs have either stopped flowing, been cut off by development or been polluted.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 9 Apr. 2026
In the Monsanto lawsuit, it is alleged that the company polluted Lake Michigan with PCBs, according to documents.
—Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 7 Apr. 2026
More spills polluted California’s beaches.
—Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
Sometimes, the water can be polluted and not look brown, but more cloudy or even colorless.
—Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
Such assurances are unlikely to quell the community’s decades-long experience with polluted runoff, however, and small farmers say that runoff could also present a food safety problem and threaten to set back years of organic farming practices.
—Thomas Heaton, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
State officials issued islandwide brown water advisories for Oahu and Maui after storms sent polluted runoff into coastal waters.
—Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2026
The South Asian nation ranked the world’s most polluted country in 2025, according to the report.
—Esha Mitra, CNN Money, 1 Apr. 2026
Since 2020, the central government has required factories in key industries, such as steel, cement, and coal power, to use a certain percentage of new-energy heavy trucks or face production restrictions on heavily polluted days.
—Xiaoying You, semafor.com, 31 Mar. 2026
Across the Northern Hemisphere, migratory fish such as salmon, sturgeon and shad have suffered major losses because rivers have been dammed and polluted, while many populations were heavily overfished.
—Zeb Hogan, The Conversation, 24 Mar. 2026
The world’s top 25 most polluted cities were all in India, Pakistan and China.
—Reuters, NBC news, 24 Mar. 2026
Today, most of humanity only has access to a heavily polluted sky rather than the pristine views our ancestors enjoyed, but that sense of awe and wonder still remains.
—Big Think, 23 Mar. 2026
They have been linked to a vast number of health risks, but their effect on athletic performance has generally been studied only when people are racing or training in polluted environments.
—Richard A. Lovett, Outside, 19 Mar. 2026
Verb
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
Unfortunately, many of those natural springs have either stopped flowing, been cut off by development or been polluted.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 9 Apr. 2026
In the Monsanto lawsuit, it is alleged that the company polluted Lake Michigan with PCBs, according to documents.
—Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 7 Apr. 2026
More spills polluted California’s beaches.
—Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
Sometimes, the water can be polluted and not look brown, but more cloudy or even colorless.
—Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for polluted
Adjective
-
Another method involves covering contaminated areas with clean soil, clay or concrete.—
Eduardo B. Farfán,
The Conversation,
21 Apr. 2026
-
On contaminated land that is too dangerous for human life, the world’s wildest horses roam free.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
Could Ty Jones, whose autopsy said the 33-year-old died of heart issues, have been poisoned too?—
Peter Van Sant,
CBS News,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Court exhibit But that, too, Casteleiro argued, was tainted.—
Mary Murphy,
CBS News,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The airline has been one of the most successful startups in aviation history, but its rapid growth has been tainted by several accidents and questions about the reliability of its aged fleet.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Net income is $807 million, or 43 cents per diluted share.—
Glenn Taylor,
Footwear News,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The device pulls in a lot of air to capture the very diluted CO2.—
Molly McCrea,
CBS News,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
For example, Wilson’s team is exploring whether dilute acids speed up weathering.—
Robert F. Service,
Science | AAAS,
3 Sep. 2020
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
-
The post-debate reaction from this week has been quite mixed, but there is an overall feeling that nobody really delivered a solid punch.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Stock futures were little changed, while Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
24 Apr. 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 28 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
