as in polluted
containing foreign or lower-grade substances
the hospitals had no choice but to throw out the contaminated blood supply
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in poisoned
to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable
a supply of drinking water that was contaminated by a toxic waste dump
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of contaminated
Karina Nicholas, Boston Herald, 28 Nov. 2025
As Thanksgiving is upon us, millions of Americans are getting ready to cook mountains of food and trying new recipes, but beware, as food recalls for contaminated products are currently underway.
—Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 24 Nov. 2025
Austen Erblat, CBS News, 7 Feb. 2026
People can get parasites in ways including spending time in areas with them, from contaminated food or water, or from bug bites.
—Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for contaminated
Adjective
Simple, inexpensive steps — washing hands, replacing contaminated curtains, removing unnecessary devices — have proven track records of reducing infections, saving lives and lowering costs.
—Karina Nicholas, Boston Herald, 28 Nov. 2025
As Thanksgiving is upon us, millions of Americans are getting ready to cook mountains of food and trying new recipes, but beware, as food recalls for contaminated products are currently underway.
—Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 24 Nov. 2025
Verb
Colorado health officials have issued a safety notice over batches of marijuana contaminated with yeast and mold sold in 31 stores across the state over the past two-and-a-half months.
—Austen Erblat, CBS News, 7 Feb. 2026
People can get parasites in ways including spending time in areas with them, from contaminated food or water, or from bug bites.
—Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for contaminated
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contaminated
Adjective
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Caleb Roberts, the director of Downwinders at Risk, said once again, the most vulnerable and polluted communities are left behind.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
3 Feb. 2026
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Water from the Yamuna – considered sacred and worshipped by millions – has become so polluted by ammonia from industrial waste that water plants have been unable to treat it.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Last year, though, the Anthropic team inadvertently poisoned its own well by allowing the Jones Foods experiment, in which Claude faked its way through retraining, into the data set.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
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Spanish was the primary language for more than 60% of people poisoned, according to the health department.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Even diluted bleach is a strong chemical to be using in your flower vase water.—
Peg Aloi,
The Spruce,
11 Feb. 2026
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This is done by scrubbing the feeder and its parts with mind soap and water, then soaking it in a diluted bleach solution.—
Madeline Buiano,
Martha Stewart,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Second, a dilute hydrochloric acid is used to dissolve the remaining lithium and the transition metals—nickel, cobalt, and manganese.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Oct. 2025
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For example, Wilson’s team is exploring whether dilute acids speed up weathering.—
Robert F. Service,
Science | AAAS,
3 Sep. 2020
Adjective
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Chinese officials blamed the tainted test results on chemically altered food the athletes had consumed at the time.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Feb. 2026
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But the process- judging by the emails- seemed to take too long and not be transparent enough for Colorado gasoline regulators, who asked Sinclair for days for a list of gas stations where the tainted fuel was sold.—
Brian Maass,
CBS News,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contaminated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contaminated. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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