contaminate

[ verb kuhn-tam-uh-neyt; noun, adjective kuhn-tam-uh-nit, -neyt ]
See synonyms for: contaminatecontaminatedcontaminatescontaminating on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),con·tam·i·nat·ed, con·tam·i·nat·ing.
  1. to make impure or unsuitable by contact or mixture with something unclean, bad, etc.: to contaminate a lake with sewage.

  2. to render harmful or unusable by adding radioactive material to: to contaminate a laboratory.

noun
  1. something that contaminates or carries contamination; contaminant.

adjective
  1. Obsolete. contaminated.

Origin of contaminate

1
1375–1425; late Middle English contaminaten<Latin contāminātus, past participle of contāmināre to defile, spoil, equivalent to con-con- + -tāminare, verbal derivative of *tāmen something touched <*tag-s-men, equivalent to tag-, variant stem of tangere to touch + -s-men resultative noun suffix; cf. examen

Other words for contaminate

Other words from contaminate

  • con·tam·i·na·ble, adjective
  • con·tam·i·na·tive, adjective
  • con·tam·i·na·tor, noun
  • con·tam·i·nous, adjective
  • non·con·tam·i·na·ble, adjective
  • non·con·tam·i·na·tive, adjective
  • re·con·tam·i·nate, verb (used with object), re·con·tam·i·nat·ed, re·con·tam·i·nat·ing.
  • self-con·tam·i·nat·ing, adjective
  • un·con·tam·i·na·ble, adjective
  • un·con·tam·i·nat·ed, adjective
  • un·con·tam·i·na·tive, adjective

Words Nearby contaminate

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How to use contaminate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for contaminate

contaminate

verb(kənˈtæmɪˌneɪt) (tr)
  1. to make impure, esp by touching or mixing; pollute

  2. to make radioactive by the addition of radioactive material

adjective(kənˈtæmɪnɪt, -ˌneɪt)
  1. archaic contaminated

Origin of contaminate

1
C15: from Latin contamināre to defile; related to Latin contingere to touch

Derived forms of contaminate

  • contaminable, adjective
  • contaminant, noun
  • contaminative, adjective
  • contaminator, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012