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adulteration

[uh-duhl-tuh-rey-shuh n]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR adulteration ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act or process of adulterating.
the state of being adulterated.
something adulterated.

Origin of adulteration

1500–10; < Latin adulterātiōn- (stem of adulterātiō); see adulterate, -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for adulteration

deterioration, contamination

Examples from the Web for adulteration

Historical Examples of adulteration

  • Most of the cases that I heard turned on the adulteration and falsification of liquors.

  • After the practices of adulteration naturally follow the practices of retail trade.

    Laws

    Plato

  • It gives many openings for theories of agglutination and adulteration.

  • An excessive amount of sand in the ash should be classed as adulteration.

  • Dressing is not regarded as an adulteration, but as an embellishment.

    Textiles

    William H. Dooley

Word Origin and History for adulteration
n.

c.1500, from Latin adulterationem (nominative adulteratio), noun of action from past participle stem of adulterare "corrupt, falsify; debauch; commit adultery," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + Late Latin alterare "to alter" (see alter).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
adulteration in Medicine

adulteration

[ə-dŭl′tə-rā′shən]

n.

The alteration, especially the debasement, of a substance by deliberately adding something not ordinarily a part of it.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.