contaminate

[verb kuhn-tam-uh-neyt; noun, adjective kuhn-tam-uh-nit, -neyt]

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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.

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 formscon·tam·i·na·ble, adjectivecon·tam·i·na·tive, adjectivecon·tam·i·na·tor, nouncon·tam·i·nous, adjectivenon·con·tam·i·na·ble, adjectivenon·con·tam·i·na·tive, adjectivere·con·tam·i·nate, verb (used with object), re·con·tam·i·nat·ed, re·con·tam·i·nat·ing.self-con·tam·i·nat·ing, adjectiveun·con·tam·i·na·ble, adjectiveun·con·tam·i·nat·ed, adjectiveun·con·tam·i·na·tive, adjective

Synonyms for contaminate

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR contaminate ON THESAURUS.COM

1. defile, pollute, taint, infect, poison, corrupt.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for uncontaminated

late, different, state-of-the-art, modern, unusual, unfamiliar, contemporary, current, strange, brand-new, unique, original, advanced, recent, unsullied, purified, pristine, untouched, subdued, platonic

Examples from the Web for uncontaminated

Historical Examples of uncontaminated

In contact with germless air the uncontaminated must never ferments.
Fragments of science, V. 1-2
John Tyndall
"I'm glad to meet one uncontaminated American citizen in this city," he said.
The Art of Disappearing
John Talbot Smith
For his dreams had been of an Arabian Houri, uncontaminated by the west.
Tartarin de Tarascon
Alphonse Daudet
How I love them for the clean, uncontaminated body with which they blessed my spirit.
Memoirs of John R. Young
John Young
The love of sex for sex would have been uncontaminated and pure.
Commentary on Genesis, Vol. I
Martin Luther

British Dictionary definitions for uncontaminated

uncontaminated

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

Derived Formscontaminable, adjectivecontaminant, nouncontaminative, adjectivecontaminator, noun

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

Word Origin and History for uncontaminated

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.

uncontaminated in Medicine

contaminate

[kən-tăm′ə-nāt′]

v.

To make impure or unclean by contact or mixture.

To expose to or permeate with radioactivity.

Related formscon•tam•i•nant (-nənt) n.