adulterate
/ə'dʌltərit/
Học thuậtThân thiện
The inspector discovered that the merchant had tried to adulterate the wine with water.
Definition
- Verb:
- To corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance. This often involves replacing valuable or genuine ingredients with cheaper, inferior, or harmful ones.
- To make something weaker or worse in quality by adding something else to it.
Usage
The verb "adulterate" is used to describe the act of intentionally making a substance impure or less valuable by adding other materials. It is a formal term, often used in legal, commercial, or scientific contexts to describe fraud or contamination. It typically has a negative connotation, implying deception or a reduction in quality.
Examples
- Verb:
- The company was fined for using chemicals to adulterate its olive oil.
- Historically, merchants would adulterate wine with water to increase their profits.
- It is illegal to adulterate prescription drugs.
Advanced Usage
- "to adulterate something with something": This is the standard construction to specify both the target substance and the additive.
- The investigation found they had adulterated the ground coffee with roasted barley.
- Used in passive voice to describe the state of a product.
- The seized spices were found to be heavily adulterated with artificial colorants.
Variants and Related Words
- Adulteration (n): The act of adulterating or the state of being adulterated.
- The adulteration of food is a serious public health concern.
- Adulterant (n): A substance used to adulterate another.
- Lead chromate was identified as the adulterant in the turmeric powder.
- Adulterated (adj): Describing something that has been made impure.
- Consumers were warned about the adulterated milk.
Synonyms
- Debase: To lower in quality or value.
- Contaminate: To make something impure by exposure to or addition of a poisonous or polluting substance.
- Dilute: To make a liquid thinner or weaker by adding water or another solvent. (Note: "Dilute" can be neutral, while "adulterate" is always negative and implies deception.)
- Tamper with: To interfere with something in order to cause damage or make unauthorized alterations.
Antonyms
- Purify: To remove contaminants from.
- Refine: To remove impurities or unwanted elements from a substance.
Related Phrases and Concepts
- Food fraud: The deliberate adulteration of food products for economic gain.
- Purity standard: A benchmark against which a substance is measured to ensure it is not adulterated.
The inspector discovered that the merchant had tried to adulterate the wine with water.
Adjective
- mixed with impurities
Verb
- corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients with inferior ones
- adulterate liquor