as in cleaning
to remove dirty or dangerous substances (such as radioactive material) from (a person, thing, place, etc.)
Special workers were called in to decontaminate the area after the oil spill.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of decontaminating
Among our responsibilities was decontaminating people and equipment after exposure to hazardous materials.
—
Jennifer N. Pritzker, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
Radiation protection personnel allegedly responded to the incident quickly, pulling the worker from the water and decontaminating him safely.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
Jennifer N. Pritzker, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
Radiation protection personnel allegedly responded to the incident quickly, pulling the worker from the water and decontaminating him safely.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decontaminating
Verb
-
Don’t forget your rugs, Ryan Knoll, owner of Tidy Casa, a home cleaning company that cleans over 600 homes a month.—
Alora Bopray,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Three quick-connect spray tips offer a range of cleaning from precision to wide-area, an extra-large 22-ounce foam cannon for deep suds and 25 feet of hose with an additional 35 feet of cord for total reach.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
And even those veterans could be traded in this rebuilding climate, where the Dolphins are seemingly purging bloated salaries, and traded away players who have value — such as receiver Jaylen Waddle and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick - for draft picks.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Order 1 dissolved the ruling Baath Party and removed all senior party members from their government positions, purging the administrative class that ran its ministries, hospitals and schools.—
Farah N. Jan,
The Conversation,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Many markets in Asia are closed on Monday for holidays, as Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong celebrate Easter, while mainland China and Taiwan celebrate Qingming Festival, the tomb-sweeping holiday.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
6 Apr. 2026
-
The whole thing was a striking visual spectacle, too — waves of musicians rising from both sides, backup singers swaying and clapping, spotlights sweeping across the floor as a roaming camera zipped through the crowd like a drone that had just discovered country music.—
Theoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decontaminating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decontaminating. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
