adjective
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made unclean or impure; contaminated
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slang intoxicated; drunk
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of polluted
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at pollute, -ed 2
Explanation
Anything that's polluted is ruined and dirty — it's been contaminated by something dangerous or even deadly. It's not safe to eat fish caught in a polluted river. The adjective polluted is obviously a close relative to pollute and pollution, so you know that polluted air or water isn't clean. All of these words come from the Latin polluere, "to soil or defile," from a combination of por-, "before," and -luere, "to smear." A polluted city can result from a coal-burning factory, and things can also be figuratively polluted: "Fear of outsiders created a polluted society."
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.
“Your bank account can’t protect you if you are breathing polluted air or rely on a dysfunctional health care system.”
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
Every river and lake in England is now "polluted with toxic chemicals", The i Paper writes, after a new report from the Environment Agency.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
These included relatively polluted clouds, shallow warm clouds, and clouds sampled below their deeper convective regions.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
At one point on Saturday, the smoke made New York City the most polluted city in the world, followed closely by Toronto and Washington, according to air tracker IQAir.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
“And the sky. You can’t even see the stars. They’ve polluted the sky. This is a terrible time to be a satyr.”
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
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.
