Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Rendered unwholesome or impure by the introduction of a harmful or undesirable substance: Describes something, typically a physical substance like water, food, or soil, that has been made unsafe or unfit for use due to the presence of pollutants, toxins, or infectious agents.
   • Corrupted in quality, character, or integrity through contact or association: Describes something abstract, such as evidence, data, or a process, that has been made unreliable, invalid, or tainted by improper influence or mixing with corrupting elements.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The factory spill resulted in contaminated drinking water for the entire town.
  • Authorities issued a recall for the contaminated batch of lettuce.
  • The laboratory samples were contaminated during transport, ruining the experiment.
  • The investigation was compromised by contaminated evidence.

Advanced Usage

• "To become contaminated": to change from a pure or safe state to an impure or dangerous one.
  • If the wound is not cleaned, it can easily become contaminated with bacteria.
• "Contaminated with": used to specify the polluting agent.
  • The air was contaminated with toxic fumes from the fire.

Variants and Related Words

• Contaminate (verb): To make something impure or unsafe by adding a harmful substance.
  • The oil spill contaminated the coastline.
• Contamination (noun): The process or state of being contaminated.
  • The contamination of the river was a major environmental disaster.
• Decontaminate (verb): To remove dangerous substances from an area or object.
  • Teams worked to decontaminate the building after the chemical leak.

Synonyms

• Polluted: Made impure, especially with man-made waste. (Often used for air, water, land).
• Tainted: Spoiled by adding something inferior or undesirable. (Often implies a loss of purity or goodness).
• Adulterated: Made poorer in quality by adding another substance. (Often used for food or drink).
• Infected: Contaminated with disease-causing microorganisms.

Antonyms

• Pure: Not mixed or adulterated with any other substance or material.
• Sterile: Free from bacteria or other living microorganisms; completely clean.
• Uncontaminated: Not contaminated; pure.

Related Phrases

• "Groundwater contamination": The pollution of water located beneath the earth's surface.
• "Cross-contamination": The process by which bacteria or other microorganisms are unintentionally transferred from one substance or object to another, often in a kitchen or laboratory setting.
  • Using the same cutting board for meat and vegetables can lead to cross-contamination.

Adjective

1. rendered unwholesome by contaminants and pollution
   • had to boil the contaminated water
   • polluted lakes and streams
2. corrupted by contact or association
   • contaminated evidence