adjective
-
made unclean or impure; contaminated
-
slang intoxicated; drunk
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of polluted
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at pollute, -ed 2
Explanation
Anything that's polluted is ruined and dirty — it's been contaminated by something dangerous or even deadly. It's not safe to eat fish caught in a polluted river. The adjective polluted is obviously a close relative to pollute and pollution, so you know that polluted air or water isn't clean. All of these words come from the Latin polluere, "to soil or defile," from a combination of por-, "before," and -luere, "to smear." A polluted city can result from a coal-burning factory, and things can also be figuratively polluted: "Fear of outsiders created a polluted society."
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.
Now environmental advocates are pushing state regulators to crack down by requiring stormwater permits — essentially best practices — for businesses that haven’t been held accountable for their polluted runoff.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
The new law sets France "the goal of decontaminating soil and water polluted" by the pesticide, according to a copy on the parliament's website.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
The Wye is one of the UK's most celebrated rivers but it's become more polluted in recent years.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
My apartment in Queens was almost visible across the river; a swim through one of the nation’s more polluted waterways felt more attainable than walking the 6 miles that remained.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
Arsenic, the environmental substance most clearly established as causing cancer in man, is involved in two historic cases in which polluted water supplies caused widespread occurrence of cancer.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
