adjective
-
made unclean or impure; contaminated
-
slang intoxicated; drunk
Other Word Forms
- pollutedness noun
- unpolluted adjective
Etymology
Origin of polluted
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; pollute, -ed 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The dam collapse killed 19 people, polluted the river and destroyed hundreds of homes.
From BBC
The failure of the mine-waste dam and resulting mudslide near the town of Mariana killed 19 people and polluted more than 400 miles of rivers.
The United Nations children's agency warns that polluted air puts children at heightened risk of acute respiratory infections.
From Barron's
But it’s the lack of transparency and the 11-month delay in reporting the reading that has fomented community mistrust and raised questions regarding the military’s competency to safely clean up the polluted shipyard.
From Los Angeles Times
Central Asia is also one of the world's most polluted regions and hardest hit by climate change.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
