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.
Nearby words
containership, containment, containment, policy of, contakion, contaminant, contaminate, 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
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for uncontaminated
British Dictionary definitions for uncontaminated (1 of 2)
uncontaminated
/ (ˌʌnkənˈtæmɪˌneɪtɪd) /
adjective
not having been polluted, infected, or made impure
British Dictionary definitions for uncontaminated (2 of 2)
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
Derived Forms
contaminable, adjectivecontaminant, nouncontaminative, adjectivecontaminator, nounWord 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
Medicine definitions for uncontaminated
contaminate
[ kən-tăm′ə-nāt′ ]
v.
To make impure or unclean by contact or mixture.
To expose to or permeate with radioactivity.
Related forms
con•tam•i•nant (-nənt) n.The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.