as in contaminated
containing foreign or lower-grade substances
called in to clean up the polluted stream
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
outmoded factories polluting the air
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of polluted
Chierstin Roth, CBS News, 19 May 2026
The scam driving the narrative is a live one, featuring the Gowanus Canal, then New York City’s most polluted body of water and ripe for development, a few dozen blocks north of Little Odessa.
—Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
Speaking of ventilation, don’t forget to breathe deep; a new electric air filter cleanses our world’s increasingly polluted atmosphere, an issue contributed to by the S-Class itself.
—Brett Berk, Robb Report, 15 May 2026
That will prevent polluted excess water being sent on estuaries east and west of the lake that have befouled waters with blue-green algae that has led to massive deaths of marine life within the past decade.
—Jim Turner, Miami Herald, 15 May 2026
Worse still, the heat makes spilled oil more toxic, with some scientists estimating that the Gulf is the most polluted marine basin in the world.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 14 May 2026
Warning signs along the shoreline caution that exposure could lead to illness as polluted runoff enters the Pacific Ocean.
—Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 10 May 2026
Northern India already has some of the world’s most polluted air, created by a toxic mix of vehicle and industrial emissions, crop residue burning, and construction dust.
—Ayushi Shah, CNN Money, 9 May 2026
If canaries in coal mines were harbingers of safe conditions, surely piping plovers at Waukegan Beach mean the city is overcoming its polluted past.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026
Dylan Jackson, ABC News, 6 May 2026
That is exactly what this film cleverly does — pinpoints the insidious nature of far-right movements and the creeping rhetoric that has polluted our society.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 30 Apr. 2026
Water sources are often polluted through run-off from lawns that contain herbicides.
—David Beaulieu, The Spruce, 28 Apr. 2026
As Mexico City has expanded, the Xochimilco water system has shrunk and become increasingly polluted, placing mounting pressure on the axolotl population.
—Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 28 Apr. 2026
There is no remediation if the waters in it are polluted by copper sulfide and nickel mining.
—Mary Murphy, Twin Cities, 17 Apr. 2026
The heavy elements produced in the violent death of one first generation star swiftly polluted a primordial cloud of molecular hydrogen and helium that subsequently collapsed to form SDSS J0715-7334.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 16 Apr. 2026
The river has been polluted by pesticide and fertilizer runoff for years, and the mining water adds another burden, Deehan said.
—Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026
Many of those natural springs have either stopped flowing, been cut off by development or been polluted.
—Ryan Brennan
april 9, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
It's considered one of the most polluted zip codes in America.
—Chierstin Roth, CBS News, 19 May 2026
The scam driving the narrative is a live one, featuring the Gowanus Canal, then New York City’s most polluted body of water and ripe for development, a few dozen blocks north of Little Odessa.
—Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
Speaking of ventilation, don’t forget to breathe deep; a new electric air filter cleanses our world’s increasingly polluted atmosphere, an issue contributed to by the S-Class itself.
—Brett Berk, Robb Report, 15 May 2026
That will prevent polluted excess water being sent on estuaries east and west of the lake that have befouled waters with blue-green algae that has led to massive deaths of marine life within the past decade.
—Jim Turner, Miami Herald, 15 May 2026
Worse still, the heat makes spilled oil more toxic, with some scientists estimating that the Gulf is the most polluted marine basin in the world.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 14 May 2026
Warning signs along the shoreline caution that exposure could lead to illness as polluted runoff enters the Pacific Ocean.
—Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 10 May 2026
Northern India already has some of the world’s most polluted air, created by a toxic mix of vehicle and industrial emissions, crop residue burning, and construction dust.
—Ayushi Shah, CNN Money, 9 May 2026
If canaries in coal mines were harbingers of safe conditions, surely piping plovers at Waukegan Beach mean the city is overcoming its polluted past.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026
Verb
Testing by the University of Georgia that alerted the industry and state in 2008, when Bost was in her teens, showed the local Conasauga River that supplies the region’s drinking water was polluted.
—Dylan Jackson, ABC News, 6 May 2026
That is exactly what this film cleverly does — pinpoints the insidious nature of far-right movements and the creeping rhetoric that has polluted our society.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 30 Apr. 2026
Water sources are often polluted through run-off from lawns that contain herbicides.
—David Beaulieu, The Spruce, 28 Apr. 2026
As Mexico City has expanded, the Xochimilco water system has shrunk and become increasingly polluted, placing mounting pressure on the axolotl population.
—Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 28 Apr. 2026
There is no remediation if the waters in it are polluted by copper sulfide and nickel mining.
—Mary Murphy, Twin Cities, 17 Apr. 2026
The heavy elements produced in the violent death of one first generation star swiftly polluted a primordial cloud of molecular hydrogen and helium that subsequently collapsed to form SDSS J0715-7334.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 16 Apr. 2026
The river has been polluted by pesticide and fertilizer runoff for years, and the mining water adds another burden, Deehan said.
—Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026
Many of those natural springs have either stopped flowing, been cut off by development or been polluted.
—Ryan Brennan
april 9, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for polluted
Adjective
-
Per Mayo Clinic, Salmonella is a bacterial disease that affects the intestinal tract and typically infects people through contaminated water or food.—
Chiara Kim,
PEOPLE,
7 May 2026
-
People can get sick after breathing in contaminated particles that get stirred into the air, especially while cleaning or spending time in places where rodents have been active, like sheds, garages, barns, cabins and storage areas.—
Tiffani Jackson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
Despite evidence that the two got along well enough, rumors spread in Vienna after Mozart’s death that Salieri had poisoned him.—
Michael Schulman,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
Two lethal mushroom species, the death cap (Amanita phalloides) and western destroying angel (Amanita ocreata), have poisoned at least 47 people and claimed four lives since mid-November, according to the California Department of Public Health.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
Murdaugh’s attorneys appealed the murder convictions, saying the trial was tainted by the county clerk’s improper comments to jurors, prejudicial evidence and failures at trial.—
Ray Sanchez,
CNN Money,
15 May 2026
-
The election beating may have been the final straw for a leader already tainted by his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to Washington despite the veteran politician’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
Then wipe using warm soapy water or a diluted vinegar solution.—
Jessica Safavimehr,
Southern Living,
14 May 2026
-
Otherwise, spot clean them with diluted detergent and water.—
Ryan Brennan,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
But dwarf galaxies are smaller and colder, with more dilute and slower-moving matter.—
Paul M. Sutter,
Scientific American,
6 May 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
The company in 2020 pleaded guilty to distributing adulterated ice-cream products and agreed to pay a fine over the outbreak.—
Dylan Tokar,
WSJ,
2 Feb. 2023
-
And while most of those overdoses involved the illicit synthetic opioid fentanyl, experts say that an adulterated and contaminated drug supply is also leading to deaths.—
Nadia Kounang,
CNN,
17 Mar. 2022
Adjective
-
In the case of mixed martial artists Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey, who meet at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on Saturday in Netflix’s first live MMA broadcast, the rust has been gathering for far longer.—
Sarah Shephard,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
-
The weapon, developed to deliver multiple nuclear warheads over great distances, has a mixed record in testing so far and was once planned to be fielded in 2020.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
Wise’s wistful songwriting is retained, but completely missing is his intentionally impure palette.—
Billie Bugara,
Pitchfork,
7 Mar. 2026
-
This is because they are often seen as ritually impure.—
Megan Bryson,
The Conversation,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Polluted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/polluted. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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