pollute

[puh-loot]

verb (used with object)

polluted, polluting 

1. to make foul or unclean, especially with harmful chemical or waste products; dirty.

   to pollute the air with smoke.

   Synonyms: befoul, soil
   Antonyms: purify

2. to make morally unclean; defile.

   Synonyms: deprave, debase, corrupt, vitiate, contaminate, taint
   Antonyms: purify

3. to render ceremonially impure; desecrate.

   to pollute a house of worship.

4. Informal.,  to render less effective or efficient.

   The use of inferior equipment has polluted the company's service.

pollute

/ pəˈluːt /

verb

1. to contaminate, as with poisonous or harmful substances

2. to make morally corrupt or impure; sully

3. to desecrate or defile

Other Word Forms

• polluter noun
• pollutive adjective
• nonpolluting adjective
• unpolluting adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pollute¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English polute, from Latin pollūtus, past participle of polluere “to soil, defile,” equivalent to pol-, assimilated variant of por- “forth, forward” (variant of prefix per- ), here marking completed action + -lū- base of -luere (akin to lutum “mud, dirt,” lustrum “muddy place”) + -tus past participle suffix; per-

Word History and Origins

Origin of pollute¹

C14 polute, from Latin polluere to defile

Example Sentences

Fossil fuels pollute the air when they are extracted and when they are burned, but the steps between those two points involve far more than familiar scenes of drilling equipment and smoke-filled power plants.

Read more on Science Daily

The dam collapse killed 19 people, polluted the river and destroyed hundreds of homes.

Read more on BBC

The failure of the mine-waste dam and resulting mudslide near the town of Mariana killed 19 people and polluted more than 400 miles of rivers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In the US, coal emissions rose 7.5 percent, as higher gas prices saw power generation switched to the more polluting fuel.

Read more on Barron's

Many researchers and NGOs question the whole concept, saying such schemes disrupt local communities while doing little to improve the environment, existing only to allow companies to keep polluting elsewhere.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• contaminate 
• foul 
• infect 
• poison 
• stain 
• taint 
• violate