pollute

American  

[puh-loot] / pəˈlut /

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.

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pollute British  

/ pəˈluːt /

verb

1. to contaminate, as with poisonous or harmful substances

2. to make morally corrupt or impure; sully

3. to desecrate or defile

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Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of pollute

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; see per-

Explanation

Pollute is a verb that means to make something dirty or impure. You can pollute a river by pouring waste into it, or you can pollute your body by eating way too much candy. Pollute comes from the Latin word pollut-, meaning “soiled.” When you pollute something, it's soiled or contaminated, often by something poisonous. You might have heard the word pollution — pollution is the stuff that pollutes the environment. The word pollute can be used more figuratively to describe something that corrupts or degrades. For example, reading articles about celebrity weddings can pollute your mind.

Example Sentences

Signs of that shift are already visible, as fake images of real incidents further pollute the information landscape.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

"Microplastics do not just pollute aquatic environments as visible particles. They also create an invisible chemical plume that changes as they weather," said lead author Jiunian Guan of Northeast Normal University.

From Science Daily • Dec. 31, 2025

Unfortunately, these tests served mostly to put both East and West on edge, pollute parts of the United States and the former Soviet Union, and make a lot of people sick.

From Salon • Nov. 2, 2025

But the use of low-earth orbit satellites for mobile communications has been criticised by astronomers, who say they pollute the night sky and make it more difficult to spot potential hazards such as asteroids.

From BBC • Oct. 30, 2025

I won’t pollute my insides with Bluberridazzlepops or muffins or scritchscratchy shards of toast, either.

From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson

Related Words

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