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
Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
Around 20 million people in New Delhi woke up today breathing the most polluted air of any major city in the world, a day after celebrations for the Diwali festival.
—Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2025
Authorities add that polluted water, marine debris, and unstable cliffs may also pose hazards, according to a webpage from the National Park Service (NPS).
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
But perhaps most significantly, these changes may be linked to cyanobacteria, toxic microbes often found in polluted waters.
—Pranjal Malewar, New Atlas, 14 Oct. 2025
Legislators passed a nonbinding resolution to return a parcel by a shopping mall in Syracuse, but that area turned out to be too polluted.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2025
The polluted site will be made safe with an 18-inch surface cover of clean soil over a demarcation barrier.
—Jc Reindl, Freep.com, 9 Oct. 2025
Part of the environmental movement in the seventies and eighties was that these water bodies, Santa Monica Bay was too polluted to swim in.
—Outside Online, 1 Oct. 2025
Established under the Carter administration in 1980 and now largely funded through dedicated taxes reinstated by the Biden administration’s infrastructure law, the Superfund program is used for clearing up polluted land and handling environmental crises such as oil spills and natural disasters.
—David Lightman, Sacbee.com, 29 Sep. 2025
Laura Schulte, jsonline.com, 17 Oct. 2025
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, women in cobalt-mining regions have reported reproductive-health concerns such as miscarriages and birth defects; cobalt mining has also polluted croplands.
—Scott W. Stern, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2025
Directed by series veteran David Silverman, the movie’s plot saw Springfield being confined under a massive glass dome after Homer accidentally polluted the town’s lake.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 29 Sep. 2025
The story there was that Homer had accidentally polluted the town's water supply, and the Simpson family members were declared fugitives by the Environmental Protection Agency.
—Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Sep. 2025
However, by the late 1920s, the river was once again polluted by industrial and human runoff and was deemed unsafe for swimming.
—Melina Khan, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025
The area is significantly polluted with DDT, a chemical used as an insecticide that was banned in 1972.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Sep. 2025
The Grand Calumet River and Indiana Harbor Ship Canal — located in East Chicago — were polluted from more than a century of industrial and municipal wastewater discharges, and caused multiple grassroots organizations to advocate for cleanup measures along the river.
—Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 26 Aug. 2025
My experience of the internet, when constrained to apps, has become further polluted by an inability to turn off ads.
—Lucy Handley, Big Think, 25 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Instead of adding external chemicals or excavating polluted layers, the soil itself becomes a dynamic system capable of regenerating its quality over time.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
Around 20 million people in New Delhi woke up today breathing the most polluted air of any major city in the world, a day after celebrations for the Diwali festival.
—Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2025
Authorities add that polluted water, marine debris, and unstable cliffs may also pose hazards, according to a webpage from the National Park Service (NPS).
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
But perhaps most significantly, these changes may be linked to cyanobacteria, toxic microbes often found in polluted waters.
—Pranjal Malewar, New Atlas, 14 Oct. 2025
Legislators passed a nonbinding resolution to return a parcel by a shopping mall in Syracuse, but that area turned out to be too polluted.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2025
The polluted site will be made safe with an 18-inch surface cover of clean soil over a demarcation barrier.
—Jc Reindl, Freep.com, 9 Oct. 2025
Part of the environmental movement in the seventies and eighties was that these water bodies, Santa Monica Bay was too polluted to swim in.
—Outside Online, 1 Oct. 2025
Established under the Carter administration in 1980 and now largely funded through dedicated taxes reinstated by the Biden administration’s infrastructure law, the Superfund program is used for clearing up polluted land and handling environmental crises such as oil spills and natural disasters.
—David Lightman, Sacbee.com, 29 Sep. 2025
Verb
That includes farmers who have had sludge from water treatment plants spread on their land containing PFAS, fire departments, airports and municipalities, people who own land that was polluted by PFAS originating from another nearby property or waste facilities that accepted PFAS.
—Laura Schulte, jsonline.com, 17 Oct. 2025
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, women in cobalt-mining regions have reported reproductive-health concerns such as miscarriages and birth defects; cobalt mining has also polluted croplands.
—Scott W. Stern, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2025
Directed by series veteran David Silverman, the movie’s plot saw Springfield being confined under a massive glass dome after Homer accidentally polluted the town’s lake.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 29 Sep. 2025
The story there was that Homer had accidentally polluted the town's water supply, and the Simpson family members were declared fugitives by the Environmental Protection Agency.
—Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Sep. 2025
However, by the late 1920s, the river was once again polluted by industrial and human runoff and was deemed unsafe for swimming.
—Melina Khan, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025
The area is significantly polluted with DDT, a chemical used as an insecticide that was banned in 1972.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Sep. 2025
The Grand Calumet River and Indiana Harbor Ship Canal — located in East Chicago — were polluted from more than a century of industrial and municipal wastewater discharges, and caused multiple grassroots organizations to advocate for cleanup measures along the river.
—Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 26 Aug. 2025
My experience of the internet, when constrained to apps, has become further polluted by an inability to turn off ads.
—Lucy Handley, Big Think, 25 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for polluted
Adjective
-
Aircraft manufacturers could also install air sensors on planes so that crew members know when contaminated air has entered a plane, safety advocates note.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
29 Oct. 2025
-
By transforming contaminated land into what scientists describe as self-cleaning biogeochemical reactors, the technology redefines how soil restoration can be achieved.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
There’s often an arch detachment where the singer tries to pretend as though they haven’t actually been poisoned by being online themselves.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
-
In the first half of the year, thousands of sea lions and dolphins stranded along beaches in Southern California, many found dead, poisoned by domoic acid created by toxic algae.—
Erika I. Ritchie,
Oc Register,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
One year ago, Martinsville was tainted by race manipulation on two counts.—
Jordan Bianchi,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
That means Zaha will be suspended for Game 1 of the playoffs against NYCFC, which tainted an otherwise near-perfect evening for the home team.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Essential oils can be used in various ways, such as inhaling them through a diffuser or applying a diluted solution to the skin.—
Emily Brown,
Verywell Health,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Empty the bird baths and wash them with a diluted solution of vinegar and water, and dry before refilling.—
Joan Morris,
Mercury News,
13 Oct. 2025
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
-
Robot can serve as an inspection agent With this new demonstration, a flexible mobile robot, powered by agentic AI that is running on AMD silicon, operates within a warehouse with mixed traffic.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
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While the full moon may have some mixed energies, with the planets crisscrossing in all sorts of ways, the key now is to focus on being grounded, balanced and centered as much as possible.—
Kyle Thomas,
PEOPLE,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
France has Europe’s largest population of Muslims, over 6 million, for whom pigs are considered impure.—
Reuters,
CNN Money,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Even the most natural parts of many women’s lives — such as menstruation, clothing or even breastfeeding — can be framed as being impure or as moral transgressions.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Polluted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/polluted. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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