to contaminate
248
4.9
- verb
- /kənˈtæmɪˌneɪt/
:
contaminar
- Be careful not to let any chemicals contaminate the soil.
- contaminated water
- contaminated sites
- contaminated groundwater
So that those are kind of the six ways that we can contaminate water from fracking.
- So that those are kind of the six ways that we can contaminate water from fracking.
- Ultraviolet photography requires darkness because visible light contaminates the the photograph.
- Now when the police emptied the lock up, what they've done is cross contaminated all the firearms.
- AB if you bring samples back, you don't want that to contaminate us.
- What that will do is between plants, you do not want to cross contaminate your plants.
- And he's trying to demonstrate that he's being helpful at that moment in time, that he's not going to contaminate the crime scene in some way.
- We should be very careful with messing with them and bringing our own stuff there that contaminates it.
- If this thing really did have its own unique origin, this impact to Thea, why didn't it contaminate that then and have its own distinct signature that gets mixed in?
- And as he says, sometimes a person will even contaminate us without us realizing it.
- You've got something that can contaminate other bits of our reality, so to speak.
Examples
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If you're having raw chicken on the same plate as your vegetables that you're not going to cook, that can contaminate things and people can get sick that way.
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PG&E is contaminating the water, which is giving people in a certain town cancer and other diseases.
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What that will do is between plants, you do not want to cross contaminate your plants.
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Other than that, I gotta ask you to leave before you contaminate my crime scene any more than you already have.
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My dad said, "Why contaminate your lungs with smoke?"
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You have contaminated the crime scene.
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So that those are kind of the six ways that we can contaminate water from fracking.
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Make sure you don't bring that red into the space, otherwise it really will contaminate the white.
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Soon, they are discarded in ways that contaminate land, water, or the atmosphere.
Academic text (1999) -
Contaminated water affects people, crops, animals.
Synonyms
126
7.3
To make something harmful or spoil its quality
109
3.4
To make water, air or land dirty by adding harmful waste
97
4.4
To damage a relationship or group by spreading bad ideas
18
4.5
To make something dirty or blocked so it does not work properly
14
1.0
To make something unclean or covered with dirt
5
8.2
To make food or drink impure by adding cheaper ingredients
3
9.4
Make something dirty or spoiled by adding harmful things
3
7.4
To fill something completely with a liquid or chemical
2
9.9
Make a contract or decision not valid by law
1
8.3
Make alcohol unfit to drink by adding a chemical
1
8.2
To make something poisonous by adding harmful things
1
3.5
To make something dirty with wet dirt, for example shoes or floors
Causing something to become dirty or harmful by adding unwanted materials
Making something impure by adding cheaper or harmful substances
To make something dirty with mud or dirt
Antonyms
- Specialized
9
7.0
To remove harmful substances from a place or thing to make it safe
How Contaminated
Surface Forms
Morphology
contaminate = contamin + ate
The suffix '-ate' signals a verb meaning 'to make X', but the stem 'contamin-' is not a standalone English word and is not transparently analyzable by average learners, so the overall relation is only partially clear.
Etymology
Contaminate comes from the Latin contaminare, with con- meaning 'together' and the idea that things 'touch' or 'mix' and make each other unclean. So to contaminate something is to let harmful things 'touch' or mix with it and make it dirty or dangerous.