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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of polluted
Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 9 June 2026
The purifiers are part of the county’s effort to provide temporary relief to South Bay residents exposed to hydrogen sulfide from the polluted waterway while the United States and Mexico work to address infrastructure failures at a transboundary wastewater treatment facility.
—Walker Armstrong, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2026
Osei has been feeding it polluted water from a nearby canal.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 8 June 2026
Kids with heavy exposure to polluted air, tobacco smoke, animal dander and other irritants may develop allergies at higher rates than others.
—Dr. Daniel Digiacomo, Boston Herald, 7 June 2026
Once guided by stars across the Empty Quarter, Emiratis now live under one of the world’s most light-polluted skies, prompting new dark-sky policies and growing concern over disappearing night.
—Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2026
The emergency overflow meant untreated water and polluted stormwater discharged directly into the river.
—Irene Wright, USA Today, 28 May 2026
Families living in a toxic-waste polluted area around Naples were preparing to meet Pope Leo XIV during his pastoral visit on Saturday, carrying with them years of grief, anger and hopes for justice after losing children to cancer linked to a multi-billion mafia racket of dumping toxic waste.
—ABC News, 23 May 2026
Environmental non-profit group Heal the Bay ranked Santa Monica Pier among the Golden State’s most polluted beaches for the fifth year in a row.
—Teresa Mull, FOXNews.com, 23 May 2026
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
However, the oceans are in trouble and are constantly polluted with plastic, particularly single-use plastic bags, which is a huge problem.
—Kelsey Glennon, Travel + Leisure, 18 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
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
Adjective
The measure was a face-off between supporters who said the community needed more housing and opponents who raised concerns about traffic, wildlife and polluted groundwater from a nearby former landfill.
—Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 9 June 2026
The purifiers are part of the county’s effort to provide temporary relief to South Bay residents exposed to hydrogen sulfide from the polluted waterway while the United States and Mexico work to address infrastructure failures at a transboundary wastewater treatment facility.
—Walker Armstrong, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2026
Osei has been feeding it polluted water from a nearby canal.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 8 June 2026
Kids with heavy exposure to polluted air, tobacco smoke, animal dander and other irritants may develop allergies at higher rates than others.
—Dr. Daniel Digiacomo, Boston Herald, 7 June 2026
Once guided by stars across the Empty Quarter, Emiratis now live under one of the world’s most light-polluted skies, prompting new dark-sky policies and growing concern over disappearing night.
—Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2026
The emergency overflow meant untreated water and polluted stormwater discharged directly into the river.
—Irene Wright, USA Today, 28 May 2026
Families living in a toxic-waste polluted area around Naples were preparing to meet Pope Leo XIV during his pastoral visit on Saturday, carrying with them years of grief, anger and hopes for justice after losing children to cancer linked to a multi-billion mafia racket of dumping toxic waste.
—ABC News, 23 May 2026
Environmental non-profit group Heal the Bay ranked Santa Monica Pier among the Golden State’s most polluted beaches for the fifth year in a row.
—Teresa Mull, FOXNews.com, 23 May 2026
Verb
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
However, the oceans are in trouble and are constantly polluted with plastic, particularly single-use plastic bags, which is a huge problem.
—Kelsey Glennon, Travel + Leisure, 18 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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for polluted
Adjective
-
Because children breathe more rapidly and can pull in more contaminated air than adults relative to their body weight, these weapons are particularly dangerous to the young.—
ProPublica,
ProPublica,
10 June 2026
-
Once deployed, the drone can autonomously locate and characterize CBRN threats, giving operators a safer way to understand the risks present in contaminated areas.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
The attack, which has been linked to a threat actor tracked as TeamPCP, poisoned the durabletask package after compromising Microsoft credentials for publishing the package.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
8 June 2026
-
Some believe that’s by design, that the show has been poisoned on purpose.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
However, those conditions were tailored for the popular drink’s smoother, more diluted flavor with around one-fifth of espresso’s caffeine concentration.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
11 June 2026
-
Wipe them down with mild soap and water, diluted bleach, or an all-purpose cleaner.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
Some kits are less easy to adore, whether bad (always subjective), good but spoiled by a dubious sponsor, a combination of both or tainted by association.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
11 June 2026
-
The left no longer believes that immigrants of diverse backgrounds should assimilate themselves into a national culture tainted by white supremacy, while the right views immigrants’ very presence in the country as a threat to that same national culture.—
Yoni Appelbaum,
The Atlantic,
8 June 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
-
Reality told a bit of a mixed story.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
12 June 2026
-
Much of the marketing world is handing over creative tasks to AI with fairly mixed results.—
Amanda Gerut,
Fortune,
12 June 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 16 Jun. 2026.
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