adulterate

American  

[uh-duhl-tuh-reyt, uh-duhl-ter-it, -tuh-reyt] / əˈdʌl təˌreɪt, əˈdʌl tər ɪt, -təˌreɪt /

verb (used with object)

adulterated, adulterating

1. to debase or make impure by adding inferior materials or elements; use cheaper, inferior, or less desirable goods in the production of (any professedly genuine article).

   to adulterate food.

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adjective

1. impure or debased; cheapened in quality or purity.

2. adulterous.

adulterate British  

verb

1. (tr) to debase by adding inferior material

   to adulterate milk with water

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adjective

1. adulterated; debased or impure

2. a less common word for adulterous

Usage

What does adulterate mean? To adulterate means to make something impure or alter its original form by adding materials or elements that aren’t usually part of it, especially inferior ones. Adulterate is commonly used in the context of food preparation and manufacturing in reference to the contamination of food products with additives that make them impure in some way. There are laws against this, especially when the ingredients added may be harmful to people’s health. It can also be used in a less serious way to refer to adding ingredients thought to be unnecessary, as in I would never adulterate coffee with sugar or cream. Adulterate is also commonly used in a more general way to refer to any action that alters something in a way that people think makes it impure or inferior. The noun form of adulterate is adulteration. The past tense form adulterated can also be used as an adjective, as in Officials confiscated the adulterated foods. Less commonly, adulterate itself can also be used as an adjective in the same way. Example: Some sellers were caught adulterating the spices by adding fillers.

Other Word Forms

• adulteration noun
• adulterator noun
• unadulterate adjective

Etymology

Origin of adulterate

1580–90; < Latin adulterātus mixed, adulterated (past participle of adulterāre ), equivalent to ad- ad- + -ulter (perhaps combining form of alter other; alter ) + -ātus -ate ¹

Explanation

If you adulterate something, you mess it up. You may not want to adulterate the beauty of freshly fallen snow by shoveling it, but how else are you going to get to work? The verb adulterate comes from the Latin word adulterare, which means “to falsify,” or “to corrupt.” Whenever something original, pure, fresh, or wholesome is marred, polluted, defaced, or otherwise made inferior, it has been adulterated. A vitamin company might issue a recall if they learn that one of their products was adulterated during production. And if you hate dried fruit, you might complain that your grandma adulterates her oatmeal cookies with raisins.

Example Sentences

It is one thing to alter the competition, another to adulterate or corrupt it - La Liga accepts the first suggestion, but not the second.

From BBC • Oct. 22, 2025

Now, he can rest easy: There's no economic incentive to adulterate his product.

From Salon • Aug. 2, 2023

Little five-spice seasoning or herbs adulterate this meat.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 14, 2021

You don’t take a food celebrated for one property alone — pickles are sour — and adulterate its central character and declare it brilliant.

From Washington Post • Aug. 12, 2021

Moreover, a neighbor may pollute the water supply, foul the air, and adulterate the food.

From Euthenics, the science of controllable environment a plea for better living conditions as a first step toward higher human efficiency by Richards, Ellen H.

Related Words

• contaminate