contaminate
[ verb kuhn-tam-uh-neyt; noun, adjective kuhn-tam-uh-nit, -neyt ]
/ verb kənˈtæm əˌneɪt; noun, adjective kənˈtæm ə nɪt, -ˌneɪt /
verb (used with object), con·tam·i·nat·ed, con·tam·i·nat·ing.
to make impure or unsuitable by contact or mixture with something unclean, bad, etc.: to contaminate a lake with sewage.
to render harmful or unusable by adding radioactive material to: to contaminate a laboratory.
noun
something that contaminates or carries contamination; contaminant.
adjective
Obsolete. contaminated.
RELATED WORDS
late, different, state-of-the-art, modern, unusual, unfamiliar, contemporary, current, strange, brand-new, unique, original, advanced, recent, unsullied, purified, pristine, untouched, subdued, platonic
Nearby words
- containership,
- containment,
- containment, policy of,
- contakion,
- contaminant,
- contamination,
- contango,
- contd,
- contd.,
- conte
Origin of contaminate
1375–1425; late Middle English contaminaten < Latin contāminātus, past participle of contāmināre to defile, spoil, equivalent to con- con- + -tāminare, verbal derivative of *tāmen something touched < *tag-s-men, equivalent to tag-, variant stem of tangere to touch + -s-men resultative noun suffix; cf. examen
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for uncontaminated
uncontaminated
/ (ˌʌnkənˈtæmɪˌneɪtɪd) /
adjective
not having been polluted, infected, or made impure
contaminate
verb (kənˈtæmɪˌneɪt) (tr)
to make impure, esp by touching or mixing; pollute
to make radioactive by the addition of radioactive material
adjective (kənˈtæmɪnɪt, -ˌneɪt)
archaic contaminated
Word Origin for contaminate
C15: from Latin contamināre to defile; related to Latin contingere to touch
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
contaminate
early 15c., from Old French contaminer, from Latin contaminatus, past participle of contaminare "to defile," from contamen "contact, pollution," from com- "together" (see com-) + *tag-, base of tangere "to touch" (see tangent). Related: Contaminant (1934); contaminable.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
contaminate
[ kən-tăm′ə-nāt′ ]
v.
To make impure or unclean by contact or mixture.
To expose to or permeate with radioactivity.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.