Contaminate Definition
kən-tămə-nāt
contaminated, contaminates, contaminating
verb
contaminated, contaminates, contaminating
To make impure, infected, corrupt, radioactive, etc. by contact with something or by the addition of something; pollute; defile; sully; taint.
Webster's New World
To expose to or permeate with radioactivity.
American Heritage
To influence the semantic properties or phonological form of (a word or phrase); blend with.
The Middle English word femelle was contaminated by the word male, resulting in the modern form female.
American Heritage
To introduce impurities or foreign matter to.
Do not contaminate the peanut butter with the jelly.
This water is contaminated. It isn't safe to drink.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
noun
One that contaminates; a contaminant.
American Heritage
Origin of Contaminate
-
From Old French contaminer, from Latin contaminare (“to touch together, blend, mingle, corrupt, defile”), from contamen (“contact, defilement, contagion”), related to tangere.
From Wiktionary
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Middle English contaminaten from Latin contāmināre contāmināt- tag- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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