contaminate
verb (used with object)
to make impure or unsuitable by contact or mixture with something unclean, bad, etc..
had contaminated
-
past perfectof contaminate.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
They were outraged about the lack of government accountability surrounding the closure of the Exide battery recycling plant in nearby Vernon that had contaminated thousands of homes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Local residents had complained that exploration work had contaminated the water supply, threatened tourism and risked hastening the melting of glaciers, Kyrgyz media reported earlier this year.
From Barron's ● Nov. 25, 2025
Residents said newly dug hatcheries and ponds had contaminated neighboring communities’ water and soil, making it nearly impossible to grow crops, especially rice they depend on for food.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 20, 2024
In 2021, the UK Supreme Court allowed a group of 42,500 Nigerian farmers and fishermen to sue Shell in the English courts after years of oil spills had contaminated land and groundwater.
From Reuters ● Feb. 2, 2023
The dust which had contaminated most of the planet’s surface had originated in no country, and no one, even the wartime enemy, had planned on it.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
