Nearby Words
verb (used with object), -lut·ed, -lut·ing.
1.
to make foul or unclean, especially with harmful chemical or waste products; dirty: to pollute the air with smoke.
2.
to make morally unclean; defile.
3.
to render ceremonially impure; desecrate: to pollute a house of worship.
4.
Informal. to render less effective or efficient: The use of inferior equipment has polluted the company's service.
Origin:
1325–75; Middle English polute < Latin pollūtus past participle of polluere to soil, defile, equivalent to pol-, assimilated variant of por- (see pollicitation; here marking the action as complete) + -lū- base of -luere (akin to lutum mud, dirt, lustrum muddy place) + -tus past participle suffix
1325–75; Middle English polute < Latin pollūtus past participle of polluere to soil, defile, equivalent to pol-, assimilated variant of por- (see pollicitation; here marking the action as complete) + -lū- base of -luere (akin to lutum mud, dirt, lustrum muddy place) + -tus past participle suffix
Related forms
pol·lut·er, noun
pol·lu·tive, adjective
non·pol·lut·ing, adjective
un·pol·lut·ing, adjective
Synonyms
1. soil, befoul. 2. taint, contaminate, vitiate, corrupt, debase, deprave.
1. soil, befoul. 2. taint, contaminate, vitiate, corrupt, debase, deprave.
Antonyms
1, 2. purify.
1, 2. purify.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Pollute
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is fletcherise. Does it mean:
| to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax. |
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
Collins
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
pollute pol·lute (pə-l&oomacr;t')
v. pol·lut·ed, pol·lut·ing, pol·lutes
To make unfit for or harmful to living things, especially by the addition of waste matter; contaminate.
To make less suitable for an activity, especially by the introduction of unwanted factors.
pol·lut'er n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
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