contaminate
[verb kuhn-tam-uh-neyt; noun, adjective kuhn-tam-uh-nit, -neyt]
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
Synonyms for contaminate
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, platonicExamples from the Web for uncontaminated
Historical Examples of uncontaminated
In contact with germless air the uncontaminated must never ferments.
Fragments of science, V. 1-2John Tyndall
"I'm glad to meet one uncontaminated American citizen in this city," he said.
The Art of DisappearingJohn Talbot Smith
For his dreams had been of an Arabian Houri, uncontaminated by the west.
Tartarin de TarasconAlphonse Daudet
How I love them for the clean, uncontaminated body with which they blessed my spirit.
Memoirs of John R. YoungJohn Young
The love of sex for sex would have been uncontaminated and pure.
Commentary on Genesis, Vol. IMartin Luther
uncontaminated
adjective
contaminate
verb (kənˈtæmɪˌneɪt) (tr)
adjective (kənˈtæmɪnɪt, -ˌneɪt)
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
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contaminate
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
contaminate
[kən-tăm′ə-nāt′]
v.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.