contaminate
verb · adjective
Simple meaning
To make something dangerous or toxic by introducing impurities or foreign matter.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kuhntamuhnaytSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
kənˈtæməneɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To make something dangerous or toxic by introducing impurities or foreign matter.
transitive
To make unfit for use by the introduction of unwholesome or undesirable elements.
transitive
To soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association.
Make impure
transitive
To infect, usually of a deadly virus.
adjective
figuratively
Dirty, sinful, wicked, gross, etc.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To make something dangerous or toxic by introducing impurities or foreign matter.
Used this way, contaminate is a reasonably familiar word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Corrupted by contact or association.
Spreading pollution or contamination.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.