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
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
It's considered one of the most polluted zip codes in America.
—Chierstin Roth, CBS News, 19 May 2026
The scam driving the narrative is a live one, featuring the Gowanus Canal, then New York City’s most polluted body of water and ripe for development, a few dozen blocks north of Little Odessa.
—Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
Speaking of ventilation, don’t forget to breathe deep; a new electric air filter cleanses our world’s increasingly polluted atmosphere, an issue contributed to by the S-Class itself.
—Brett Berk, Robb Report, 15 May 2026
That will prevent polluted excess water being sent on estuaries east and west of the lake that have befouled waters with blue-green algae that has led to massive deaths of marine life within the past decade.
—Jim Turner, Miami Herald, 15 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
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
It's considered one of the most polluted zip codes in America.
—Chierstin Roth, CBS News, 19 May 2026
The scam driving the narrative is a live one, featuring the Gowanus Canal, then New York City’s most polluted body of water and ripe for development, a few dozen blocks north of Little Odessa.
—Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
Speaking of ventilation, don’t forget to breathe deep; a new electric air filter cleanses our world’s increasingly polluted atmosphere, an issue contributed to by the S-Class itself.
—Brett Berk, Robb Report, 15 May 2026
That will prevent polluted excess water being sent on estuaries east and west of the lake that have befouled waters with blue-green algae that has led to massive deaths of marine life within the past decade.
—Jim Turner, Miami Herald, 15 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
-
By gaining new traits, these altered organisms might pose a novel invasion threat to Earth, if introduced through the transfer and insecure containment of contaminated samples.—
Leonard David,
Space.com,
3 June 2026
-
Produce grown using contaminated water may also pose exposure risks.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
He was buried alive on a construction site and then poisoned by a venomous rattlesnake that crawled into his coffin and attacked him.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
-
Just months after Netflix announced its plans to produce the series, Lin was poisoned and killed at age 39.—
Sylvie Zhuang,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
Some members of her party have pushed Sheinbaum to sever ties with Rocha Moya and other leaders suspected of links to organized crime, lest Morena be tainted by the allegations.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
-
His association with the Nazi regime, which some believe occurred only because he was pressured to play to secure the release of his mother from Auschwitz, forever tainted Wilimowski.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
Spraying a diluted milk mixture directly onto the soil nourishes these microbes.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
31 May 2026
-
Add baking soda and diluted vinegar.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
The Spruce,
30 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
-
The explosion came on the eve of New Glenn's fourth launch from Cape Canaveral following a mission in April that ended with mixed results.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
-
Johnson County Parks and Recreation is hosting the inaugural KC Unity Cup, a 7v7 adult mixed gender soccer tournament on June 6 and 7.—
Emily Harter,
Kansas City Star,
29 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 9 Jun. 2026.
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