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nonpotable

nonpotable

6.1
Not safe to drink
  • adjective
  • /nɒnˈpoʊtəbl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : no potable
  • The misperception that these venues use potable fresh water instead of recycled chlorinated nonpotable water may encourage children to intentionally swallow water.
  • nonpotable water

Examples

  • Residents were advised to avoid using nonpotable water for drinking and cooking.

  • The tap was not marked as nonpotable, and water from the tap had more than 23 fecal coliforms per 100 milliliters (mL) (Levy et al., 1998).

    Academic text (2002)
  • The sign clearly warned that the water was nonpotable and should not be consumed.

  • He filled his garden hose with nonpotable water meant for irrigation rather than for drinking.

Synonyms

undrinkable
vsnonpotable
3 3.4

Unsafe to drink or tastes so bad you cannot drink it

focuses on lack of safety or suitability rather than taste
unpotable
vsnonpotable
  • Specialized
7.7

Water that is not safe to drink

is the same meaning but a different form of the word

Antonyms

potable
  • Specialized
7 5.3

Safe to drink

How Potable

potable
  • Specialized
7 5.3
drinkable
9 1.5
nonpotable
  • Specialized
6.1

Surface Forms

nonpotable positive

Morphology

nonpotable = potable (transparent) = non + potable

Formed by the productive negating prefix 'non-' attached to 'potable', so the meaning 'not suitable for drinking' is directly inferable.

Etymology

The word nonpotable is made from non- meaning 'not' and potable, which comes from the old Latin verb potare meaning 'to drink'. So, potable means 'drinkable', and nonpotable means 'not safe to drink'.