adulteration

[uh-duhl-tuh-rey-shuhn]

noun

1. the act or process of adulterating.

2. the state of being adulterated.

3. something adulterated.

Word History and Origins

Origin of adulteration¹

1500–10; < Latin adulterātiōn- (stem of adulterātiō ); adulterate, -ion

When To Use

What does adulteration mean?

Adulteration is the act of making something impure or altering its original form by adding materials or elements that aren’t usually part of it, especially inferior ones.It can also refer to a thing that has been altered in such a way, or the state that that thing is in after having been altered.Adulteration 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 adulteration, especially when the ingredients added may be harmful to people’s health.Adulteration is the noun form of the verb adulterate, meaning to make something impure by adding inferior materials or elements. Something that has been altered in such a way can be described as adulterated.Example: They’re starting to crack down on the widespread adulteration of milk and dairy products by testing them for additives.