unadulterated
Americanadjective
-
not diluted or made impure by adulterating; pure.
unadulterated maple syrup.
-
utter; absolute.
unadulterated nonsense.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unadulterated
First recorded in 1710–20; un- 1 + adulterate + -ed 2
Explanation
Something that's pure, not mixed with other ingredients, is unadulterated. If you stand in your yard every time it rains singing "Singin' in the Rain" with unadulterated enthusiasm, your neighbors will eventually call the police. Food or drink that is pure is also said to be unadulterated. Some people like chocolate milk, but you might prefer the unadulterated variety. The adjective unadulterated also means "without qualifications," and it can be used in a negative way to mean "complete and utter." You'd probably feel like an unadulterated idiot if you shocked yourself by sticking a knife in the toaster after being advised not to.
Vocabulary lists containing unadulterated
Rap Lyrics
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"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 1
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A Wrinkle in Time
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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.
In other words, Saturday was a heaping serving of college football’s oldest specialty: pure, unadulterated mayhem.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
It is simply a cold-blooded corporate entity that operates on unadulterated self-interest.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
And yet, when it came to recruiting advertisers, Steinem said, “We were met with pure, unadulterated hostility.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
They’re also often the engines of pure, unadulterated office hell.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
My locker was an unadulterated crap hole—half trash can, half book storage.
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
