contaminate
verb (used with object)
to make impure or unsuitable by contact or mixture with something unclean, bad, etc..
was contaminating
-
past progressiveof contaminate.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
“He was contaminated, and he was contaminating his children.”
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2023
Gauge said, “Everybody wanted me in their room, but they started treating me like shit. They made me feel like I was contaminating everything.”
From Salon ● Mar. 25, 2016
Water tests showed a toxin, likely from an algae bloom, was contaminating a regional water supply from Lake Erie.
From Time ● Aug. 4, 2014
During the latter half of the twentieth century, Balkan endemic nephropathy perplexed epidemiologists in countries along the Danube until it was discovered that toxic aristolochic acid was contaminating wheat flour.
From Scientific American ● Feb. 12, 2014
Mr. Crouch took a step backward, freeing himself from contact with the elf, whom he was surveying as though she were something filthy and rotten that was contaminating his over-shined shoes.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
